From Mommy to Mom

To Be or Not to Be...

2011-01-13T11:52:00.004-05:00

A Stay-at-home mom, that is.

When people ask me what I "do" for a living, I usually answer that I am MOSTLY a stay-at-home mom. I have not worked full-time since September 2002, and the majority of my day is spent caring for my home and children. But I have worked part-time for a good part of the past decade. In all, there was only a 2.5-year period where I was home full-time.

I have had so many part-time jobs, and quite frankly I am tired of keeping that kind of a schedule. I am convinced working part-time is the hardest thing a mom can do. I am home all day and do all of the "mom" things a stay-at-home mom does. But then I have to go to work - and work means crazy hours and giving up time that most other people consider "off" time. Evenings and weekends. Ugh. And, I make very little money at my part-time job, so I still have all the money concerns of other single-income families. It's not fun.

Last January, I was hired as a teacher's aide in our local high school. I loved my job, but the high school has very different hours from the elementary schools so I needed to find childcare for my two oldest children. I was lucky to find a friend who was willing to watch them and not charge me and arm and a leg, and it worked beautifully. But alas, she went back to school and could not do it any longer, so I quit my job and went back to school myself.

I am attempting to earn my teacher's certification. I have a degree in English, so I am going for secondary education AND special eduation. My state has some big changes in place, so I am trying very hard to finish my classes by the end of 2012. It may or may not happen, for a variety of reasons (the two major ones being money and time).

So, I have been taking classes, which I enjoy, but it creates a lot of stress in our house. I didn't know how lucky I was to be an undergraduate when I was 18! School is so much harder when you have to fit a house, a job, 3 kids and a husband into the mix! But I have also been applying for full-time jobs as well.

But I get conflicted when I try to decide what is best for us. I like being home, and now that the kids are all a little older, I have a nice amount of time TO MYSELF each week. It's heavenly, and I have waited almost a decade to get this time. I have not had classes for the past month, and it is so wonderful to be home and have nothing else to do besides clean, cook, care for the kids and (gasp) maybe read some books that I want to read.

But then the bills arrive, and I feel myself having heart palpitations because we just don't have enough money to do everything we want to do. I look at the worn carpet and long for hardwood. I see my boys in bunkbeds and wish for a bigger house so that they could finally have their own space. I cringe when we take a car to be serviced, just waiting to hear how much it will cost. And then there are vacations - I grew up taking lovely trips with my family and they created lasting memories for me. I want so badly to do that with my children, and we just can't keep up every year. I know it sounds petty, and that I should be happy with what I have. Believe me - I am. But after pinching pennies and living paycheck-to-paycheck for 10 years, I am tired of it.

But am I ready to go back to work? When I spend time with the kids I don't want to leave them. This is the only reality we have all ever known. It's scary to think of changing that.

And that's why I am back in school. It's easing me into that change. First, I am relearning major time management skills with juggling home, jobs and school. Second, my program will take me at least until Decemeber 2012 to complete - if not longer - so I can not look for a teaching job for nearly 2 years.

It's such a struggle to decide what it right for me and right for my family. I am trying to be patient and have faith - and right now that is leading me down the path to continue with school. I guess I will only know in time if that is the right thing to do.

Extreme Couponing - Week 2

2011-01-09T17:31:00.005-05:00

I forgot to take pics of my finds today, as I was in a hurry to get everything put away before my family returned home from their outing (yes, I had a day to myself today!).

First stop, Walgreens. I bought:

2 Lysol all-purpose cleaner (BOGO + Coupon)

2 Lysol toilet bowl cleaners (BOGO + Coupon)

1 All laundry detergent

2 Scrubbing bubbles bathroom cleaner

2 Fiber One granola bars

1 Ocean Spray cranberry juice

2 Airborn packs (But One - Get one 50%)

1 pkg BIC disposable razors (6 in pack)

TOTAL SPENT: $32.16

TOTAL SAVED: $24.06

$2 Register Rewards earned

Not the best shopping trip, but I am now fully stocked with cleaning products and Airborn (I recently discovered this stuff, and now swear by it! I am the only one in my house who has not been sick yet this year, and I credit it to Airborn!). And I forgot that the Ocean Spray had an in-store coupon, so I paid $1 more than I should have. I will chalk that up to a novie couponer mistake - this time!

Next I hit my grocery store, where I saved $20 off my bill with coupons and in-store deals, bringing the total down to $55. Not bad for our typical weekly shopping. I do have to go back, because my Grands biscuits rang up at full-price ($1.67) instead of $1/each. I wasn't sure of the deal, but checked the flyer when I got home and found that it should have been on sale. I will stop back tomorrow and get a price adjustment, and maybe pick up some more (my family loves Grands!).

I had forgotten my Extra Care Bucks ($6) from last week, so I brought my groceries home and then went back out to CVS. This trip back a hassle. The cashier was so slow, and then something wrang up incorrectly and I had to get a price adjustment. It took me much longer than anticpated, but I did get some good deals at CVS:

2 15-count Ziplock gallon freezer bags

1 Cinnamon Toast Cruch milk & cereal bars

2 Nature Valley granola bars

1 Airwick warmer unit (this was free with a coupon)

1 Lysol disinfectant spray

1 Airwick freshmate starter kit

1 Lysol Neutra-air air freshener spray

1 Herbal Essance Shampoo

1 Herbal Essance Mousse (free with coupon)

2 Airwick scented oil refill twin packs

1 airwick i-motion starter kit.

TOTAL SPENT: $28.69

TOTAL SAVED: $43.88

$15 ECB earned (!)

I am still debating the Pepsi ECB deal this week. We don't need any more soda, and shouldn't be drinking it anyway, but that $1.67/12-pk (after ECB) is so tempting!

Extreme Couponing?

2011-01-03T18:54:00.003-05:00

Last week I watched Extreme Couponing on TLC with my extended family (it was actually what we did on my birthday!). I have always been more frugal than my sister, but we were both blown away with the savings that the Extreme Couponers could find. We decided to see how much we could save this month too!

Of course, I happen to live in an area that just doesn't double coupons. Every once and a while, Giant may run a promotion and double 6 coupons, but otherwise we just aren't lucky enough to be able to take advantage of the type of sales/discounts shown on that show.

But I was willing to try anyway...

On Sunday, I clipped a ton of coupons from the newspaper. Normally, I would clip a few for items we normally buy. This time, I clipped just about everything except pet food. Next, I sat down with a pen and all the sale inserts for my local stores. I circled everything that interested me - either because it was something we needed or something that was potentially a good deal. Next, I matched up coupons to sales.

Today, I headed to CVS. I had $1 in ECB (Extra Care Bucks) in my possession already, so I knew I would be able to use that. My list was short here, so it was a good way to test out my Extreme Couponing skills.
The Special K was on sale 3 for $10. I had a $1/3 mfg coupon, and received $4 in ECB!

The Colgate was on sale for $2.69 each. I had a $1 coupon, and got another coupon for $1.50/2 from the ECB kiosk (hooray!). I also got a surprise $2 ECB at check-out!

The coloring books (for my niece and nephews next year) were marked down to $.25 (from $1).

TOTAL SPENT: $11.67
TOTAL SAVED: $10.29
$6 in ECB earned!

From CVS, I went to Walgreens:

General Mills cereals were on sale for $1.99. I had a $1/3 coupon, getting me 3 boxes of cereal for $5. I also got a $1.50/4 coupon at the checkout for next time.

The Quaker Oatmeal was on sale for $1.99 and I had a $1 mfg coupon.

The SoftSoap was $1.99 plus a $1 in-store coupon plus a $.35 mfg coupon - $.65!

The Progresso soups were on sale 4/$5 with an in-store coupon, plus I had $1/4 mfg coupon.

The cough drops were on sale for $1 and I had a $.35 mfg coupon.

The Papermate pencils were $1.99 normally, but an in-store coupon brought them down to $.19 each pack!

The razor blades were a pricey $11.99, but I had a $2 mfg coupon, plus I got the shaving gel for free with the purchase.

TOTAL SPENT: $22.63
TOTAL SAVINGS ; $32.56

I may not be an Extreme Couponer yet, but I think I did fairly well for my first time out!

Happy 2011!

2011-01-03T18:47:00.002-05:00

It's been a long time since I last wrote on my blog, and a lot had happened in our home.

The biggest change is that I left my fantastic part-time job as a teacher's aid (that I only started a year ago) in favor of returning to school and FINALLY getting my own teaching certification. What a big change for all of us! I finished my first semester a few weeks ago, and I couldn't be happier about how it turned out. I got a nice solid A in my Educational Planning class, and an A- in my Creative Non-Fiction class (I still haven't seen my final portfolio, and I am anxious to see the comments on my writing).

The Creative Non-Fiction class is really what spurred me to bring this little old blog back to life. The class's focus was memoir writing, and what better way to create my memoir (someday...) than by actually writing about my daily life?

I am not sure if this blog will have a focus at this point. We have a busy house here with 2 kids in elementary school, one in preschool, a husband who works full-time AND teaches a class, and my crazy full-time mom/part-time employee/part-time student schedule...

My classes will resume in 2 weeks. It will be a busy semester with 2 classes and 2 Field Experiences. I am happy to be returning to my high school for my field experiences, but they will take up quite a bit of my "free time." I return to my part-time Saturday job the same week that classes resume. In the meantime, I am enjoying being a full-time mom again (and really enjoying that we are finally back into a routine after the craziness - and fun - of the holidays!).

I'm still alive!!!!!!

2009-10-27T12:34:00.003-04:00

My goodness - It's been over a month since I posted here. I guess I don't even need to go into detail about just how busy I have been, right?

This year was supposed to be my "year off." I am only working on Saturday mornings, but I am so busy with other activities that I am never home. While I really enjoy being able to help with the kids' schools and activities, I will admit I am TIRED!!!!!

So, I have made some big decisions. First and foremost - I will never (I repeat - NEVER) help plan another high school reunion. This has me nearly tearing my hair out these days! Next year, I am also taking a step back from Girl Scouts. I have run into some less-than-thankful parents this year, and it's really made my experience as a leader less fun. So next year, I am going to pass the reins to someone else and act as just an Assistant Leader.

Our little Drama Club is also causing some stress to me. It's our first try with an elementaryage club, so there have been a few bumps on the road. I was thinking that I would not continue to help with that next year too; however, our school district's redistricting took care of that first. My kids will be moving to a new (yes, BRAND new) school next year, so all of our school activities will have to change.

I know I will continue to help in the classrooms - I truly enjoy that - and I think once I trim the fat with our other activities I'll be a bit happier.

Also - I am giving some thought into going back to school next year. I have been thinking about this for years, but never really had the opportunity to do it. I am still not sure it's the right thing to do, but we are going to explore it more carefully.

Lastly, we are having some budget issues. We really need to find a system that works for us so we can stay on track - right now we have found ourselves in the uncomfortable situation of having a little more debt each month than we can pay off. :( This had become top priority for me right now - we need to get things under control!

It's beginning to look a lot like....

2009-09-23T10:16:00.002-04:00

Well, maybe I am not quite ready for Christmas yet, but I feel like it's been on my mind a lot. I was lucky to get an extra 30% off at Kohl's this week - AND they were giving out Kohl's Cash too! So guess who did a huge part of her holiday shopping???? Our family has lots of celebrations in the fall and winter - birthdays galore! So I managed to buy birthday gifts for all my fall birthdays and was also able to cross a number of gifts off my holiday list too! Plus, I earned Kohl's Cash, so I can shop for "free" next week!

When I am not busy shopping at Kohl's I've been

Working on Drama Club curriculum - it's our first attempt at a club for grades 1-5, and I wrote all the curriculum. I am crossing my fingers that the club runs smoothly when we start in October!
Planning our Brownie meetings through the end of December - some fun outdoor events, lots of crafts and a party or two!
Signed Ryan up for Boy Scouts.
Enjoyed my first morning ALONE - Jacob attended his first solo preschool session yesterday!
steam cleaning my carpets (it was on the to-do list for this fall, but I had to start due to a nasty, leaky trash bag!).
Homework, homework homework! It takes so much more organization to get TWO kids to sit down and complete their assignments after school!
Got to have a nice visit with an old friend - and meet her 3-month-old little man!
I am helping my mom plan a "sprinkle" for my sister (who is due with her 2nd baby in December). She's been blessed with a boy, and is now expecting a little girl!

So Sad

2009-09-15T15:14:00.002-04:00

I heard some very sad news today. A friend from high school lost his 2-year-old daughter after a long battle with serious complications from illness. Emma just turned 2 on September 9th. She contracted meningitis as a very young infant and suffered massive brain injuries because of her illness.

Less than one month ago, I learned that another high school classmate lost his 3-year-old daughter as well. She suffered from some medical conditions as well, but both of these precious girls were not expected to leave this world so soon.

I have another (closer) friend whose daughter was diagnosed with a terminal illness last year. Follow-up genetic testing confirmed their younger son has the same disease. Neither child will live to see their 18th birthday.

I know that these children are indeed angels and have gone on to be in peace,but it's still so heartbreaking.

I am on the reunion committee for our 15th High School Reunion this fall - the event truly has a dark cloud hanging over it.

Please go hug your babies tightly - they are miracles.

School Days

2009-09-14T18:14:00.003-04:00

(sorry no pics - I am bloggin' from work tonight, where I am covering for someone's vacation)

School started last week for my older two kids. What a change for us all! 3rd-grade is a lot more intense than 2nd grade - Maddie seems a little overwhelmed with the homework so far! Ryan is having a tough time with fullday school in 1st grade. So we are very slowly adjusting to our new fall schedule.

Jacob starts preschool tomorrow - he can't wait!!!!! I am so happy that he will finally be able to go to his own school. It's all he's been talking about for weeks!

I am trying to adjust to the schedule changes as well. This summer, we were very blessed to be laid-back and LAZY for nearly the whole 3 months. September has found me once again scheduled for PTO and Brownie events, as well as trying to find time to volunteer in the kids' schools.

I will admit that I love being home with just Jacob during the day. He loves being my little helper and we get so much done during our mornings. On Wednesday, we will be taking a Mommy & Me Music class together - I can't wait!

AND - since Jacob still takes a nice, long nap in the afternoon I have found myself with some Mommy-time! I have been using that time to sneak in some exercise - and I plan on sticking with that new routine! I also made plans to start walking with my neighbor on the mornings that Jacob is in school.

Blogging may be infrequent for now - I am just so busy with the school year STUFF. Hopefully we'll be back on track soon.

Bargain Alert - CVS

2009-09-07T21:13:00.002-04:00

I have no idea if this is at all CVS stores, or just mine, but I need to mention it. I went in for toothpaste, but found 90% summer items today!

Water Wings/Floaties for the pool - $.29!

Boogie Board - $.79!

Womens/Mens Flip Flops - $.99

"Crocs" (not real ones) - $.79!

I bought several pairs of the Crocs, since the boys love to wear those. How can you go wrong for $.79?????????

America on Wheels

2009-09-07T20:54:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, we visited the America on Wheels museum. I am not a "car buff" by any means, but I enjoyed seeing the exhibits. The kids are so into cars right now (even Maddie!), so they enjoyed their visit a lot!

There was a Photo Op Spot to be driving a race car!

And a huge display about Mack Trucks - including a cab where you could "drive."

Throughout the museum there were plenty of "hands on" activities for the kids to learn and explore.

And I enjoyed the nostalgic presentation that went along with many of the displays.

On the second floor, we found a room just for kids - complete with license plate rubbings to make! We also found a neat education room too (which is perfect because we are considering a Girl Scout field trip there this fall!).

There was even a working jukebox - 5 songs for a quarter! We enjoyed The Lion Sleeps Tonight the most!

10 Percent

2009-09-04T22:30:00.003-04:00

I have had something weighing on my heart lately, and I think I found a way to feel good about myself and help others in need. It's all about 10%

I have been concerned about how much my family consumes - in all areas of our lives. We eat out too much, we buy too many things and we have been taking less time to enjoy the important things in life. I don't like that I do it, and I don't like the lessons it's teaching my impressionable children. I care about financial future, our planet and people in need - I really, truly do. But my actions have been speaking louder than my words lately.

Today I heard some stories about homeless families in our area. My sister teaches in an inner-city district less than 10 miles from my home. Last year, that school district (just minutes away from my suburban neighborhood) had over 600 homeless children enrolled in its schools.

600 children.

And I sit in my home complaining that I need more storage space because our clothes do not fit into our closets and multiple dressers in the 3 spacious bedrooms (not to mention basement and garage) that we have.

Yet, it's really difficult for me to simply get rid of our things - things that we can (and do) use. So that's where the 10% comes in. I used this technique with Madeline once, while she was cleaning her room. She has too many stuffed animals, yet never wants to part with them. The last time we cleaned her room, I asked her to choose 9 animals to put back in her toy box - and then asked her to select ONE animal to give to charity. We did this until we went through all her animals. She still had tons of toys left, but pulled 10% of her toys to donate to charity. 10% doesn't seem like a lot, yet it's something.

I have decided to put 10% to work in other areas of our home too. Tonight, I tackled Jacob's closet. I pulled 10% of his clothes to give to charity - and he still could go weeks without wearing the same shirt twice! But his closet is less crammed, and I was able to fill almost an entire laundry basket with donations. I will be going through everyone's clothes - as well as our books, toys, media and household items - and giving 10% to someone who truly needs it. I won't miss that 10%, but I am sure it will make a HUGE difference to someone else.

Can you find 10% to give?

Meet my new Best Friend...

2009-08-30T22:02:00.003-04:00

... Pam

(Okay, I'll be honest and say it's not even PAM that I love, but her less costly store brand sister).

We have kitchen table troubles. Our table has a wood top and we get water marks all the time. After doing some internet reading, I learned that rubbing some sort of oil into the wood will remove those nasty white water rings. I was using olive oil to do this, but one day I got the idea to use Pam instead. It was so much easier - and less messy! I simply spray it one, let it sit, and then buff it off with a rag.

I have been doing it once a week to remove any water marks.

But this morning, I noticed a new problem on the table. As some of you know, I work saturday mornings, so my husband is in charge while I am working. This means that the kitchen table usually does not get wiped clean after meals. LOL We also did not eat dinner at home saturday night, so I never looked at the table at all. Well, something sticky was on the table, and then the Sunday paper was sitting on top of it. YIKES! I had black ink words all over the table!

They did not budge with a good scrubbing, and I started to panic. But then I turned to Pam. I gave the table a liberal spray and let it sit for a few minutes. I gave it another good scrubbing AND THE INK CAME OFF!!

So Pam is truly my best friend these days! She's saved us from a life of table cloths more than once!

End-Of-Summer Party

2009-08-28T15:37:00.002-04:00

We had our End-Of-Summer party on Wednesday. There was a small group of kids - my three plus 4 others - and I was lucky enough to have 2 other moms helping me!

I don't have the best photos, since I was the MC, the head chef and general Leader of the Fun, so I had little time to snap photos. But you can get a general idea of the beautiful day we had!

As our guests arrived, we handed out eyepatches and earrings (4 set for $1 at Walmart!). We started with a treasure hunt. I hid clues all over the yard, and the end result was a treasure chest (borrowed from Ryan's bedroom) filled with treasure (organza bags from the wedding section of the craft store filled with those colorful glass "gems"). There was one bag for each child - so no fighting over their booty! This was my favorite activity of the day - the kids worked together so nicely! The older kids who could read took turns reading clues and they all worked together to find the treasure (which was hiding under our tomatoes!).

We then spent some time doing pirate crafts. I had pirate suncatchers, little foam pirate ships and blank notebooks they were able to decorate with markers. I purchased all of these things for about $5 from the clearance aisle at Michael's.

Our last game was Pin The Patch on the Pirate. I simply drew a pirate on a piece of posterboard and made eyepatches from black construction paper. We used a bandana to cover their eyes. All of the kids got to choose a prize, so everyone was very happy!

We had a nice lunch consisting of peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, yogurt, cheese & crackers, fruit, carrots & dip, Sun Chips and drinks. The grown ups had yummy chicken salad in whole wheat pitas.

Our afternoon ended with some water-fun. The kids did a Cannon Ball Toss (with water ballons) and then spent the rest of the afternoon playing in a tiny pool, the water table or in the sandbox.

Out guests all went home with pirate goody bags that held more pirate treasures (a Ring Pop, candy necklaces, pirate pencils and a few pirate gold coins).

Oh - Maddie and her best friend Madison asked if they could do a short play for us while we ate. So we were all treated to their short pirate drama - complete with a sword fight!

What a harvest!

2009-08-21T12:35:00.002-04:00

The kids' school has a nice-size garden as part of their "outdoor classroom." The PTO asked for volunteer families to tend to the garden over the summer. All the volunteers were assigned a 5-day stretch in which we have to water, weed and harvest in the garden. In return, we are able to keep anything we harvest!

We spent 2 hours at the school this mornings. There weren't many weeds, but there was a lot to be harvested (in fact, there were many, many tomatoes past their prime). The kids had a blast picking the tomatoes and beans (which were pole beans, so quite different than the dwarf variety we have in our own garden) and peppers. They did a nice job of helping me take some of the rotten stuff to the compost bin - and of course they were GREAT with watering!

And checkout the goodies we took home with us today. The bowl of string beans is overflowing and taste so good raw! There were many different types of tomatoes (although most of the bigger varieties were rotting - they should have been picked weeks ago!) and we got several green peppers (there were a few red peppers, but they were also rotting).

The kids take little interest in our garden in our own yard - except to eat the yummy cantaloupe which is ripe now - so this was a good exercise for them.

Party Time

2009-08-18T22:20:00.004-04:00

It's nearly time for our annual end-of-summer party!

Next week we will host our 3rd annual End-of-Summer party. It started as a way to get the kids int he neighborhood back together before school started, but now it's just good old fun! This year, we are doing a pirate theme, which I am so excited about doing!

Today, I made the invitations. Our guest list is small (only 7 kids - plus my 3 - but we only needed 4 invitations due to groups of siblings).

First, I tore the edges off of some old linen resume paper I had. Then I made some tea (4 c. boiling water plus 8 tea bags) and let it cool. I gently crumpled the paper and dipped it in the tea (I think I dipped it about 3 times). Very carefully, I opened the paper and let it dry on our patio table (this took less than an hour to dry!).

I then used a super-fine Sharpie to write the party information on each piece of paper.

I rolled each invitation up scroll-style and tied it with a small piece of raffia.

We then cleaned and dried some empty water bottles and slid the invitations into the bottle. I used scraps of the tea-dyed paper to make labels and then tied a raffia bow on the front of the bottle.

Since I had all of these materials at home, the cost for these invitations was $00000!

We'll be hand-delivering these invitations tomorrow, and then I will dive into the rest of the plans. More to come....

A few more camp photos

2009-08-18T22:12:00.002-04:00

Here are a few more photos from the kids' week at camps (Ryan was at Sports Camp; Maddie was at Horse Camp; Jacob was a super-trooper who put up with running the older kids to two different camps!).

New Neighbor????

2009-08-18T09:21:00.002-04:00

So, about a week ago, I was outside hanging out the laundry and talking to my neighbor (who was overseeing repairs on his central a/c unit - it died on them on the first truly hot day of the summer!) and all of the sudden we saw *something* fall out of a tree and land between us. Turns out, it was a hawk - fairly large (crow-size or a little bigger) with a not-so-lucky bird (and not a little sparrow - a decent-size black bird!) in it's talons! It looked at us, readjusted the bird in it's clutches and flew away.

I thought our hawk-friend was a one-time deal, but then this weekend I found something right off our new patio. I think it's a hawk pellet (the fur, feather and bones that birds of prey don't digest - they cough it up about once a day).

Our Brownie troop had a wonderful time dissecting owl pellets during an overnight trip to our local zoo, so I had alittle experience dealing with pellets. The owl pellet was dry (and sanitized!) and the pellet I found was very dark and wet. I did a little research, and I am pretty sure this pellet belongs to my hawk friend. I am even thinking he may have been a red-tail hawk, since i read that they bite off pieces of prey (rather than eating them whole) and this pellet had very few whole bones in it.

I guess this means we have a new neighbor - one who is keeping the rodent and small bird population in check!

School shopping!

2009-08-12T14:35:00.002-04:00

My sister was lucky enough to get 30%-off at Kohl's this week, so we are taking advantage and doing our school shopping!

I love school shopping. No - I ADORE school shopping. I think it just takes me back to when I was a young child and a new school year meant so many new things. New school years mean loads of opportunities! (and, of course, I always met every goal - of course).

Thankfully, the kids don't need much this year. Maddie hit a growth spurt in January and I bought her all new pants at that time and they all still fit now! In fact, I actually have the next size up ready and waiting too! She has tons of shirts in her closets already too. So she needs a new pair of sneakers and possibly a new pair of dressier shoes (if we can find some she will actually wear). Ryan grew several inches this summer and none of his pants fit. I had enough stashed away to have a decent wardrobe, but I do need to supplement with some jeans. And he needs sneakers and shoes as well. And pajamas - the poor child tried on his fall/winter jammies the other night and they looked like capris! Jacob only needs sneakers and jeans (for some reason, Ryan never really wore 3T pants, so we have very few hand-me-downs in that size).

I did notice a great selection on the clearance racks too (I LOVE KOHL'S!) so I may have to buy some basics in the next size up for the older kids too. You can never have enough jeans and khakis!

I can't wait to go out with the kids tonight. Jacob and I had a potty-emergency stop at Kohl's this morning (coming home from the horse barn), so we chose jeans and sneakers (High-Top Chuck Taylors!!!!!! Can you say C-U-T-E???????) for him. That means I can have some special time with the older kids tonight!

And I am thinking that the evening may have to end with a stop at Rita's - it would only be out second time this summer!!!!

Horse and Sports

2009-08-11T16:25:00.003-04:00

That's the name of the game this week - Horses and Sports.

Ryan was lucky to be selected to attend two wonderful camps this summer - for FREE - at an excellent local park/estate which provides programing for our school district. He had a great time at a pirate-themed nature camp a few weeks ago. This week, he is sweating it out at a 3-day sports camp. They really keep those kids moving!

Maddie is spending the week at Horse Camp. This was her birthday gift (from back in May) from Craig and me. She LOVES LOVES LOVES it! We found this horse farm through a neighbor and are very pleased. Neither Craig nor I are big animal people, but Maddie just adores animals (specifically horses). She had no riding experience prior to camp, but after only one day we were told that she has vast amounts of natural ability! Today, she told me her horse broke out in a gallop and she nearly fell off (oh my!) but the instructors said she rode like a champ and hung on! I have to admit I am still a bit scared of these HUGE animals, and I am not a big fan of being around hot, stinky horse poop - but I am so happy Maddie has found something she loves.

Of course, her love of horses means we now have a HUGE need to find some more money in our already tight budget - she would love riding lessons this fall! I have been looking for "the right job" for nearly a year (with no luck) and almost sent a resume in for a position this week. On the surface, the job seemed like a good match, but we decided it would still be best for our family for me NOT to take this job. Instead, Craig is going to look into options for some side-jobs (which can hopefully pay for lessons). I am going to continue to stay home and only apply for any jobs which truly are the "right" thing.

Oh - here's a cutey-pie picture of Jacob - who gets an award for being a good sport this week. he has spent a lot of time in the car either dropping-off or picking-up either of the kids. He's too young for these camps, so he doesn't get to do any of the fun parts. However, he adores the horses at the barn almost as much as Maddie, so we may be looking at lessons for TWO kids in the near future!

FINALLY - some photos!

2009-08-11T12:42:00.004-04:00

I have more to post (about our busy, busy week this week), but first some photos of our new projects!

First, we had some outdoor work done. Out front, we had a rickety "wall" installed by the Builder. Basically it was a pile of rocks which, while it looked nice, was slowly letting all of our flower bed fall into the neighbor's yard. We finally had it replaced with a real retaining wall. I wasn't crazy about this project - it seemed like a lot of money for something I essentially never look at. BUT - once it was done I was thrilled! The wall looks great now, and it offer a wonderful flat surface that I can use for flower pots and jack-o-lanterns in the fall! Yay!

The same contractor put in our patio off our deck. We have been wanting to do this for quite some time, but always ended up pushing off the job. The guys were in and out in two days and I love the results! Prior to the nasty 95-degree, 100% humidity weather this week, we found ourselves outside quite a bit! now we just need to finish restaining the deck and add the river rocks around the base - and we'll be living in style (at least outdoors!).

We also added a new deck box to our deck - in an effort to control the kids' toys (how do we always wind up with so many balls?). The older two kids spent the weekend with my inlaws, so Craig only had Jacob as a helper when he assembled the deck box. He was a good helper, but was a little confused when he figured out that he was stuck IN the box. :)

The big on-going project is our bedroom. Our new bed & mattress arrived a MONTH early! Our plan was to paint both the room and the bathroom before the bed arrived, but that didn't quite work out. We are prepping to paint (the bedroom is nearly ready - perhaps paint this weekend?), but the bathroom is turning out to be a much bigger project! We (hah - let's be honest - this is ALL ME!) opted to change the lighting fixture, the faucet, the towel bars, the medicine cabinet etc. So it's going to take us a bit longer to get the bathroom done. We love the new bed, and it's inspired me to declutter a bit more and work towards having a truly peaceful master suite. We're not quite there yet, but I am working on it!
I certainly have enough to keep me busy for now! The end of the summer is coming quickly (actually, I go back to work next weekend - so summer is officially over for some colleges!) and I finally feel like we got something done! Lots more to do though!

Another crazy week...

2009-08-05T23:24:00.002-04:00

I know, I know - I have not posted the photos of our new additions. It's just been such a busy week - again!

My meeting with old friends was WONDERFUL! We had a great time - margaritas, nachos and great conversation. I only wish they came to town a little more often!

Work was fine. The kids had a good time at my mom's house, and both Craig and I survived all the managing that had to happen with me working a full day. It was a nice refresher for my job too - I start working Saturdays in just a few weeks!

The older two kids are attending Vacation Bible School at our church this week. They are having a great time! Jacob is so sad that he's not old enough to go (next year) but that hasn't stopped him from learning all the songs.

Now that we have a new bed and bedding, we're working on getting the bedroom up-to-snuff. I am still working on choosing the perfect paint color (I think I have it narrowed down to 4 choices). The bathroom is turning out to be a bigger project than anticipated. I had planned on simply painting the room, but decided the hideous lighting fixture (put in by the builder) should go. THREE lighting fixtures later I am still not sure what I am installing....

And of course I needed new hardware, shower curtain rods, towel bars and faucets - right? So I have become a regular fixture at Lowe's this week, and I am not really any closer to making a decision about my bathroom.

All of this thought for a tiny TINY bathroom!

I am also knee-deep in planning for the Drama Club at the kids' school. It's the first time the PTO is trying this, so we have to invent the wheel. I seem to be the only volunteer who has done any real theater, so a lot dropped into my lap. Busy busy! and now that we are into August, it's nearly time to sit down and plan out my year for Brownies! Busy busy busy!

Crazy Week!

2009-07-30T22:27:00.002-04:00

This week has been crazy!

Late last week our contractor called us and told us he'd be here Monday morning to start our patio. He wasn't supposed to come until mid-August! So we spent Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at home while the guys worked on our patio and retaining wall (pics to come - I promise!).

Then, as the last bricks were being laid for the wall, the phone rang. Guess what's here a month early? Our bed and mattress! Yay! But we didn't have any sheets yet, so I had to sneak a late-night Walmart run into our schedule.

Craig and Ryan are at a baseball game tonight, and Maddie had a playdate with a friend, so Jacob and I spent the evening at my mom's house. It is my sister's anniversary today, so we got to play with my nephew (my mom was babysitting him).

Tomorrow is a big day for all of us. I received a call from work (a local college, where I usually work just Saturday mornings during the school year) and was asked to cover for someone's vacation. I'll be working all day tomorrow (a first for me since having kids!) - from 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM! My mom agreed to keep my children and they are excited for a day with Grandma. Craig is actually going to do the drop-off and pick-up for me (since his work schedule is a little more flexible than mine), but boy am I going to miss those kiddos tomorrow!

Also, my best friend from high school is coming into town tomorrow. I haven't seen her for over a year, and I am excited that we are trying to arrange for a time/place to meet tomorrow night. I rarely get to go out with "the girls" so this will be a treat! To be honest though, I actually did go out with the girls this week - another good friend (who lives in Japan) is home visiting family and I was able to get together twice with her this week. While out the first time, we randomly ran into another friend from high school (who lives in SPAIN) and included her in our second outing. All of these trips were especially fun because they included all of our children too!

I will post some photos of our new patio and wall soon, as well as the bed (once it's delivered on Saturday!). I am working hard on picking paint colors for the bedroom now - I thought I had a month left to paint, but looks like I will have to work around the new bed now!

Alone

2009-07-18T17:44:00.002-04:00

I spent the day all by myself today. Craig took the kids to his parents' house and I stayed back to clean, declutter and organize.

I love days like this, but I always feel so guilty too. Guilty for not spending the day with my kids and husband (even though I spend nearly every day with them!). Guilty for not visiting my inlaws (even though we seen them frequently). Guilty for taking a little time for ME in between the cleaning I am doing.

I know some moms have no problem spending time away from their children. I could never figure out how to do that. I used to think it was a sign of being a "bad mom" - who could possibly want to spend time apart from their children????? But I know now that it's a very healthy thing to do (I wish I was better at it).

I guess these alone-times will start coming more frequently now that the kids are getting older. I am still not used to it, but I am trying very hard to enjoy it!

I think I am going to make a run to Goodwill to drop off the 3 garbage bags of junk (!) I pulled out today. Then maybe I'll use my coupon for a free Chicken Salad sandwich from Chik-Fil-A - and perhaps a Redbox video for Craig and I to enjoy later tonight.

Bedding - again.

2009-07-18T11:22:00.002-04:00

Okay - I think we have this figured out. :) I am keeping the quilt from Walmart, because I really do like it AND the colors work very well with what is in our Master Bathroom already (so I won't have to change that!). I found this pretty bedskirt at Kohl's

I also bought the matching KING eyelet pillow shams. We have decided to use 3 standard pillows to sleep on, so I will have to buy open-stock sheets, but that's not too big of an issue.

Now I have a question - the king shams are ivory with eyelet trim - very pretty but very plain. I know I want a throw pillow to go in front of them too. I did buy 2 standard shams that match the quilt, which I was planning on returning. But now I am thinking that I could perhaps keep one and use it as a "throw pillow?" Do you think that would look okay, or like I forgot to put another pillow with it?

I am having bedding issues

2009-07-17T12:38:00.001-04:00

argggghhhhhh! I thought the hard part of all of this was picking the mattress and bed, but it turns out bedding is even harder!

The new mattress and bed are king. There is no problem finding beautiful king-size quilts. But the pillows are driving me crazy!

First, Craig insists he needs to keep his memory foam pillow (which is, of course, standard size). No problem - I just bought a rather expensive (okay - not so expensive, but not the el cheapo $5 Walmart-special either) memory foam pillow for me last year too. We'll just use 3 standard pillows and return the king-size ones.

Oh - but then I can't buy sets of sheets - everything will have to be open-stock so I can buy king flat & fitted, and THREE standard pillow cases.

Okay - I can do that (even though it means returning the sheet sets I already bought, but no big deal).

BUT - why on earth do people make king-sized quilts and only make standard shams to match???????????? I really don't want 3 standard shams on my bed - I want two king shams.

I am having the hardest time finding something I like that has king shams!!!!! I want a pretty quilt and two king shams - I don't think that's too much to ask.

I am off to look at more bedding....

Sleepover!

2009-07-16T23:14:00.000-04:00

Tonight, Maddie is sleeping at her friend's house for the first time! She has had her friend stay here, but she's never gone away on her own. I am hoping I don't get a call at midnight!

I still can't believe she is old enough to be sleeping at someone else's house!

The new bed is coming....

2009-07-16T19:51:00.002-04:00

in 6 to 8 weeks.

Isn't it horrible to have to wait for new furniture????

We bought a new KING mattress tonight, and a new headboard/footboard to go with it! The mattress is a Serta (from the Vera Wang collection - who knew mattresses had to be as fancy as a wedding dress????). And here is the bed

I bought this bedding too
I am not sure I will keep that bedding though. I am torn about what I want in the room. The bedding is from Walmart, from their Better Homes and Gardens collection. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the items, but I am thinking of going with a pretty tan toile set I saw on ebay. Not sure, not sure!

Bubbles and gardens and mattresses - oh my!

2009-07-14T22:07:00.005-04:00

Maddie is at girl scout day camp this week, leaving me and the boys home together for most of the day. We've been getting a lot done around the house. Today I gave my bedroom a good cleaning (including the windows!), cleaned the kids' bathroom, did 4 loads of laundry and decluttered another dresser drawer (making it the 4th one this week - Goodwill is going to love me!)

Ryan and I played a few games this afternoon, but soon he wanted to try something new. I just got the newest issue of Family Fun magazine in the mail and had torn out a page with a cool bubble activity on it. We decided to try it.

All you do is take an empty bottle (water, soda etc) and cut the bottom off of it. Rubber band a piece of towel or washcloth around the bottom, wet the fabric and then dip it in a shallow pan of dish detergent (we use Dawn). Just blow into the bottle and here is what you'll get
Aren't those the coolest bubble "snakes" you have ever seen? This was so east to do, but be careful you don't hyperventilate! Ryan was blowing so hard (to make longer snakes) that he nearly fell over! The best part about this (aside from how easy it is to do) is surprising others with it. Ryan loved showing his brother and sister what his new bubble blower does - they were all pleasantly surprised!

While Ryan blew bubbles, I checked the progress of the garden.
We have lots of green beans on the plants (had some with dinner a few nights ago) and the lettuce is getting bigger (I planted too close to the beans, and most of my lettuce ended up not growing at all - we'll try again for the fall). Lots of carrots plumping up too. We have some nice green tomatoes:
The squash has some nice flowers on the plant, and the peppers are turning from flowers to tiny peppers this week! we also have TONS of flowers on the cantaloupe plants and some starting on the watermelon too!
Tonight, we went mattress shopping - with all three kids. Needless to say, it was quite an experience. We currently have a queen-size bed which is about 10 years old. The mattress is getting saggy, and after sleeping in king-size beds on vacation we started talking about upgrading to a king.

Mattress shopping is very frustrating! Craig seems to enjoy laying down in hundreds of beds, but I find it tedious and exhausting! The kids want to jump on every bed (you have to admit, it does look tempting), and Jacob had an accident while we were in one little mattress store! Yikes! (I was kind of hoping perhaps the salesman would give us a great deal just to get us to leave his store!).

However, we did make some progress. We know we are interested in a traditional innerspring mattress - something right in the middle of plush and firm. Hopefully we'll make a decision this week and order something - then I can have fun shopping for new bedding!!!!! I love this brown quilt from Kohls.com
Tomorrow - I'll show you my very undecorated bedroom. We'll finally paint and decorate once we get the new bed!

Mooooooooo!

2009-07-10T18:44:00.001-04:00

Can you even stand it?????? I love Cow Appreciation Day at Chik-Fil-A! The whole family dressed up as cows and enjoyed a totally FREE dinner tonight! Yee-haw!

Bye-Bye Hair!

2009-07-08T20:50:00.001-04:00

Here's the new me! I cut several inches (in the back, it could have been almost 8 inches?????) and had the back "stacked." This was a pretty bold move for me, but it paid off as I love the new look! Craig liked it a lot too (which is great - I thought he would miss the old, long hair). What do you think?

ps - these pics were taken with the self-timer and were the best I could get. :)

Walking

2009-07-06T21:34:00.002-04:00

I carved a little time for moi tonight and took a nice long walk. I like walking (once I get going) - it's so nice and quiet and the perfect time for me to relax/daydream/unwind. I love to look at all the homes as I walk past and imagine what the families who live in them are doing. :)

We had a busy day today - library, returns at one store, paying my charge bill at my dear friend Kohl's and lots of laundry.

Tomorrow we're heading to the opposite end of town to try to pick up a gift certificate for my sister's birthday (she's turning 30 this weekend - and her husband is trying to pull off the impossible and have a surprise party for her). She loves getting her nails done every other week, so I figure a gift certificate for that is PERFECT!

Speaking of things that cost a lot of money but make you feel pretty and pampered, Craig got me a lovely gift certificate to a spa (yes, a real honest-to-goodness-spa!) for Mother's Day. I still have to book my day of pampering - but first I need to decide what to get done. There will certainly be a pedicure and massage involved! I can't wait to find the time to enjoy that gift!

New Routines

2009-07-05T15:33:00.002-04:00

I can't believe the 4th of July has come and gone! The summer is nearly half over, and I feel like it just started!

We returned home from our vacation nearly 2 weeks ago. We had mostly good times. :) The kids turned out to be good little travelers (despite the fact that poor Ryan either had a big case of the nerves, some car sickness, or a 24-hour bug on the ride down - he was sick an hour into the ride) and did much better than expected during our long, long drive.

The Orlando portion of our trip was wonderful! I can't say enough great things about the pool home we rented, and Disney World was everything I hoped it would be (despite REALLY hot weather and some tired kids). Craig did work during our trip, but we still had lots of fun!

Myrtle Beach was a great way to end our vacation. We had perfect weather and stayed in a hotel that was very nice. I think we will end up visiting Myrtle Beach again in the future - we all thought our 3-day stay was a little too short!

Since we have been home, we've all been adjusting to our new "normal" - I am done babysitting and spend the days with my own three children. I won't lie at all - I am loving it! We are free to do whatever we want! We've done the pool, the library, grocery shopping, visited family and friends and more. We eat dinner at 5:00. We're all a lot happier; however, there is still a lot of adjusting going on.

I am rarely on the computer anymore! we're so busy doing "stuff" that I never have time to sit down at my desk. My goal for the next week or so is to really settle into a rhythm where I can balance housework, time with kids and personal time - I haven't really been able to hit that balance yet (meaning lots of kid time, but little time for the house or me). I think we can do it - we're just still in the Honeymoon Phase.

Hopefully I'll find more time to update more frequently here.

We're back!

2009-06-26T15:43:00.001-04:00

Greetings! We're back home, but a bit overwhelmed with laundry, unpacking and post-vacation kid-crabiness. I'll post more when we are settled!

It's time (almost!)

2009-06-08T13:14:00.002-04:00

We have been counting down FOREVER until our vacation - and it's just about time! We are leaving at the end of this week for a trip to Walt Disney World!

We're driving (from PA!) to Orlando with the 3 kids. It's going to be, um, interesting for sure.

I am knee-deep in luggage and up to my eyeballs with "to do"lists! So every free minute is taken up with packing and planning!

This is also my last week of work. I've been doing childcare for 3 years, and it's time for me to move on. My last day with all the kids is on Thursday.

Life will be very different for me when I return home - I will be home full-time with just my children. I can't wait!

When I get back, I will pick up where I left off with decluttering and organizing my home. Unfortunately I have to return my library books this week, so I have to finish my review of It's All Too Much in July!

Have a great end of June - and be prepared for some Disney pics when I get back!

It's All Too Much - Part II

2009-06-08T13:04:00.002-04:00

Okay - I promised Part II - the FAST method to cleaning and decluttering. Here it is:

This is your "kick start" to cleaning. Make it quick and dirty - no lingering to make tough decisions now. Walsh tells us there is 2 types of clutter -

Lazy clutter - unfiled papers, junk mail, magazines etc.
Stored treasures - grandma's pot holders, baby's first pair of shoes, etc

We not even going to touch the stored treasures at this point - just go after that lazy clutter. And we're going to do it FAST

F - fix a time
A - Anything not used for 12 months
S - Someone else's stuff
T - Trash

This is simple folks! Set up a time to do this - whether it's a whole weekend or 15 minutes every day for a week. Just pick a time and stick to it - nothing else happens in that time (turn off the phone, the TV and *gasp* the computer!).

If you haven't used it for a year, it's time to let go of it. If it belongs to someone else, it's time for them to reclaim it. And if it's trash, THROW IT OUT!

Things that you decide to KEEP, find a place for them. Trash - be sure to get it to a trash can ASAP so it's not tempting you to reclaim it (renting a dumpster may be helpful if you are taking a weekend to declutter). Make arrangements for others to pick up their items - or make arrangements for charities to pick up donations. Do not let anything "out the door" come back into your home!

if you plan on having a yard sale, do it as soon as possible. And be sure to not allow anything that doesn't sell back in your home!

Told you this was EASY!

Book Review - It's All Too Much

2009-06-03T14:17:00.002-04:00

I am reading It's All Too Much by Peter Walsh. It's a very easy read with a few attempts at humor along the way. I am using this book at a guide to declutter my house this summer, so I thought I would share some of the highlights with you too!

In Part I - The Clutter Problem, Walsh addresses why clutter is a problem for so many people. In fact, he even includes a "clutter quiz" you can take (I was a "Clutter Victim" - suffering from some clutter problems, but still able to dig my way out). Americans are suffering from a "clutter epidemic" - we have too much disposable income and the MALL has become the "new town square." There is a huge emotional cost associated with too much clutter (like embarrassment) and Walsh promises to give us a step-by-step guide to overcoming the clutter problem.

Think you have a good excuse for using your kitchen counter as a storage shelf? Or keeping your cookbooks in the guest bathroom? Or filling your child's playroom with so many of his outgrown clothes that he hasn't found his Hot Wheels in months? Walsh goes through a list of the top 9 excuses, and shows us that we are really only fooling ourselves.

Why we keep things

"I might need it one day" - it's smart to think ahead to the future, but clutter can "stop us from living in the present." (He specifically discusses those of us who keep clothes a size or two too small - just because we *will* lose 10 lbs soon!).
"It's too important to let go" - These are things that have sentimental value (Grandma's tea towels), family history (your child's first pair of shoes) or mark personal achievements (all of your cheerleading awards from high school). "Clutter makes us forget what's really important." (Have you ever not had family over to visit because your house was too messy?)
"It's worth a lot of money" - Things with a great perceived value are sometimes the hardest to get rid of, but "Clutter robs us of real value" when we live in a messy home filled with things we don't use.
"My house is too small" - There is nothing wrong with wanting to better your situation and have a bigger home someday, but you can't live for the next house. "CLutter steals our space."
"I don't have the time" - Sure, we're all busy, but think of how much time you'll save if you are not hunting for keys, permission slips or other lost items.
"I don't know how it got like this" - "Clutter takes over" - for some reason, we hand control over to our things. Take back the control!
"It's not a problem, my husband only thinks it is: - We must communicate about clutter issues. If one person perceives it as a problem "clutter jeopardizes our relationships."
"It isn't mine" - Other people's clutter robs us of opportunities that should be ours. Stop storing things for others - reclaim your home!
"It's too overwhelming" - It IS overwhleming, but the result of being clutter-free is a HUGE emotional benefit. "Clutter denies us peace of mind."

Walsh encourages us to "look beyond stuff and imagine the life you could be living." Picture your ideal home. Do you have a romantic get-away in your Master Bedroom? A Family Room that encourages the family to work and play together? Think about how you want each room to be used, and be sure to communicate this with others in your household. If you aren't on the same page about how you want to use your Family Room, the list of "necessary items" will be vastly different!

So - that's Part One of the book. Are you ready to declutter?

As I read some of the excuses for clutter, I could feel myself getting embarrassed! I have said so many of those excuses time and time again! I have given some thought to the life I want to live too - I want to be a stay-at-home mom to my children. I want the freedom to have at least half of each day to playing and enjoying being with my kids. I want weekends and evenings to be reserved for family time. I want my kitchen to be ready to prepare healthy meals for my family. I want my family room to provide entertainment and relaxation for the whole family. I want the living room and dining room ready to entertain any surprise guests, and I want the dining room table available so that I can sit with the kids and help them with their homework.

Our basement playroom is where the kids can play, movies can be watched and Craig and I carry out any office duties (bill paying, filing etc). The master bedroom will be a relaxation sanctuary - no toys, no storage! my closet will only hold clothes that fit me now, so that I don't need to waste 20 minutes trying on clothes every time I get dressed!

I have a plan in place! Tomorrow I will blog about Part II - which gets into the FAST way to clear clutter. It's a great way to start and results are immediate! I can't wait to start (even if I am a bit short on time until after our vacation). Who's with me????

Monday Catch-Up!

2009-06-01T10:57:00.003-04:00

*DEEP BREATH*

My busy week is over - and I survived! Here's a quick run-down of what we've been busy doing:

Maddie had a birthday party at home last weekend. Big parties = big work! i am glad all of the kids' birthdays are past for another year!

My Brownie troop had it's last meeting for the year and ended with a sleepover at our local zoo. It was a lot of fun, although I didn't get much sleep. We took a hike, met some animals, toured the zoo and got to pick apart owl pellets!

We added on to our garden. This is the "during" shot - the after shots will come later!

the bummer news is that I had to ground Ryan. As in, take away toys, no tv, no privileges at all. He inked up my bedroom - tableclothes, lampshade, dresser, clothing etc. I'm done being mad about it. I just hope we did the right thing with the punishment for him.

So it's been a long week. i have some things I want to post about before vacation - hope I can find the time! Oh - Maddie snapped a photo of me & Craig the other day - she didn't do too bad of a job!

This is their childhood

2009-05-26T12:58:00.002-04:00

I had a realization over the holiday weekend. I am sure some will think this is pretty silly for mom-of-three (with the oldest being 8) just figuring this out NOW.

THIS is my kids' childhood. Right here - right now. This is what they will remember when they are older. This is what they will be referring to when they say "remember when we were kids..."

Kids don't look forward to the time when we'll be able to afford a bigger house, or when we'll make more money. They don't look forward to next year's vacation. They don't worry about what they'll be wearing next year. They don't worry about college, weddings, retirement. All they care about is NOW. NOW is where they form the memories they will hold for the rest of their lives.

This is really important.

I do think about the future and what needs to come next. After all, that's kind of my job as a parent. But it finally hit me that I need to live for the NOW too. These days are too precious to miss out on.

This whole year has ushered in some big realizations for me. It's why I finally quit my daycare job and decided we need to focus on just our children.

But as I sat at picnics and birthday parties this weekend, I recalled picnics and birthday parties from when I was a child. Did I care about parties at fancy places? Nope. Did I care that our house wasn't the biggest or fanciest? Nope. All I remember is family, friends and good time.

I want that for my children too.

Something's Missing....

2009-05-22T21:14:00.003-04:00

Ryan lost his first tooth tonight!

We had a fun night taking a long walk, playing at the playground and finally came home for nice, relaxing baths. I was just about to step in the shower when Ryan asked me to look at his "super loose tooth." Wow! It was loose! We checked it just last week and it wasn't this loose!

Well, the poor guy just started crying - he was so afraid to lose a tooth! he wiggled it a bit more and we all heard a CRACK and knew it had to come out. So I reached in and plucked it out.

As soon as it was out, he was really REALLY excited and proud!

Maddie lost her first 2 teeth before she was even 5 years old. Ryan turned 6 last month, so he's been waiting for this.

We finally got his Tooth Fairy Box out tonight!

A story of our homes (and have I really become a snob???)

2009-05-22T14:00:00.006-04:00

I am a real estate junkie. I fully admit it. I search the MLS at least twice a week (just looking!). I would even do it 2 months after we moved into our house (it drives my husband crazy!).

We're not in a position to buy a new house - and won't be for quite some time (it will take either 2 incomes or a lot more equity than we have). But I like to look. And dream....

*Rewind to 1999*

I had just graduated from college and was working and planning a wedding. Craig was still in college (he's 2 months younger than me, but a year behind in school). We knew we would rather buy a house - any house - than "throw away" money in rent, so as Craig was being fitted for his cap and gown, I was out house-hunting with my dad. By the time Craig was also a wage-earning member of society, we were spending every weekend going to Open Houses and actively looking for a house.

It took a few months, and a few rounds of disappointments and tears, but we finally found our house. It was an 80-year-old twin in the west-end of a fairly large city. Everything about the house was charming, but old. We had 3 nice-size bedrooms, 1 full bath (and a scary toilet in our basement that only the brave would approach!), a beautiful sunroom and a postage stamp yard just perfect for a toddler to play in. It needed some work (all new wiring plus some cosmetics), but basically was a nice sound house.

Look at the beautiful front room we had! 6 windows! And the front door was all window too! We started out with wicker in there, but as we had children, it slowly turned into a playroom.

Living Room & dining room - our house was nice and spacious. Brick fireplace in the living room. HUGE dining room that fit tons of furniture PLUS a curio cabinet PLUS my piano! There was beautiful woodwork in this house that was just begging to be refinished (we never did!).

The kitchen was pretty hideous in this house. There was a bad circa-1982 renovation done - complete with orange counters. The layout was terrible too. had we stayed, we would have redone the kitchen (I heard that was the first thing the new owners did!).
We could have made this house work for us - had it been in a better school district. We lived here for just shy of 3 years, and then found a new opportunity in a much better district.

*Fast-forward to 2004*

This is our "new" house while it was still under construction. It's a townhome - but we gained some square footage, several bathrooms, a garage and a much larger yard. We're also in a great school district (that we don't ever want to leave). I don't have many recent photos of the house - that will be my project this weekend (so expect a photo tour next week!).

*Return to 2009*

While we do love our house, I find myself still looking at the MLS twice a week. Now that the real estate bubble has burst, I see so many opportunities becoming available, but we just aren't ready to make the move. Not only do we not have the confidence to tackle a bigger mortgage on a single income, but I just can't find the "perfect" house. This is where I start to question if I have become a house snob. Ugh.

We are blessed with a great backyard. Especially for a townhome. I could never give my kids less space to play! And we have 2 full baths and 2 half baths. Now, I could do with fewer bathrooms to clean, but it's soooooo nice having a bath right off my bedroom. And it's really nice having a bath on each floor of the house.

I think my biggest area of becoming a snob is air conditioning. I LOVE CENTRAL A/C. I really, really do. Not only does it keep us nice and cool, but it helps our allergies so much. I don't think I could ever go back to not having central air!!!

So maybe I've become a house snob. Finding the next "perfect" house may be a real problem. Guess it's good we aren't going anywhere soon!

I am a MEAN neighbor

2009-05-21T09:07:00.003-04:00

I had quite a dilemma this week.

As you may know, I live in a townhome, so it's pretty close quarters with all the neighbors. We've been here 5 years and have had almost no problems with our neighbors. Last year, a new family moved in next door (what was formerly the model home for the neighborhood, so it was vacant for 4 years). They are a nice couple, who just had a new baby this year.

The big problem is - they do not take care of the exterior of their home. Last year, they would let the lawn go weeks between mowings. They didn't even buy a mower until they had been here 2 months! Everyone in the neighborhood offered the use of their mowers, but honestly, they just didn't care to mow more than once a month.

Same thing in the winter - snow removal just didn't happen. The sidewalks in front of their house were dangerous and icy all season!

Now, we're back to spring, and they have mowed ONCE. The grass is now 11-inches high in the yard and over 2 FEET in the rear of the yard. It looks horrible and is now breeding all sorts of bugs (and I shudder to think of mice and *gulp* SNAKES). I can't leave the kids play anywhere near this grass - it's awful!

Our very nice preteen neighbor offered to cut their grass for a reasonable price, but he was turned down twice. The grass remains way too high.

Yesterday, I made the decision to go to the Township about it. Honestly, I am worried about what is crawling around in this grass! I figured the Township would monitor the situation and *maybe* issue a warning.

Well, yesterday afternoon (as I was hanging my laundry) the enforcement officer came to measure the grass and told me the township would be cutting the grass and issuing a fine to my neighbors. I feel fairly guilty about this - I don't dislike my neighbors, but I did feel something needed to be done.

So I am officially the MEAN neighbor. But I am hoping the township comes to cut this grass BEFORE Maddie's birthday party on Sunday!

How Does My Garden Grow???

2009-05-21T09:02:00.002-04:00

I haven't spent a lot of time in the garden lately - just pull weeds here and there. But it's growing nicely.

i know most people love seeing the abundance of their garden later in the season, but my favorite time is the early days. I love seeing a bean barely peeking out of the ground one day, and see it 2 inches high the next day! What growth!

My sugar snaps are getting high! And the lettuce, carrots and beans are coming along nicely too. The cantaloupes are REALLY tiny, but they popped up too. Still waiting for the watermelon!

Hopefully this weekend we'll be able to add to the garden a bit. I need room for my tomatoes and peppers!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADELINE CLAIRE!

2009-05-20T14:10:00.003-04:00

My daughter turned 8 today!

It seems like so many years ago that Craig and I were just a couple - waiting to be blessed with a baby of our own. Madeline was (and continues to be) everything we could ever want!

Here she is at just 5 days old (doesn't she look so much older than just 5 days? That's just how she is - much more mature than she really needs to be!)

And here she is today wearing her "new" (a hand-me-down from a friend) riding helmet. Maddie has a love for horses that I will never fully understand, but we are embracing it and gave her a week at horse camp for her birthday. She is thrilled!

Will I ever get caught up?

2009-05-19T11:04:00.002-04:00

I am certainly paying the price for choosing fun over function this weekend!

The laundry is piled up out of the hampers, the whole house needs a good cleaning and OH MY! the clutter! It's going to take a lot of effort to get this place clean!

Tomorrow is Maddie's 8th birthday, so tonight we need to get treats to take into school. Her family birthday party is on Sunday, so the house needs to be in order by then!

I am trying to get little thing done here and there (when the day care kids allow it). I did get one load of laundry done this morning, and was able to vacuum the 1st floor of the house. Got to keep on going!!!!

MPS Awareness Day - May 15th

2009-05-18T09:19:00.002-04:00

Friday May 15th was MPS Awareness Day. From the National MPS Society webpage:

Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) and related diseases are genetic lysosomal storage diseases (LSD) caused by the body's inability to produce specific enzymes. Normally, the body uses enzymes to break down and recycle materials in cells. In individuals with MPS and related diseases, the missing or insufficient enzyme prevents the proper recycling process, resulting in the storage of materials in virtually every cell of the body. As a result, cells do not perform properly and may cause progressive damage throughout the body, including the heart, bones, joints, respiratory system and central nervous system. While the disease may not be apparent at birth, signs and symptoms develop with age as more cells become damaged by the accumulation of cell materials.

The kids and I wore purple ribbons in honor of Waverly and Oliver (a friend's children who suffer from this disease).

Shannon and I went to high school together and were pretty good friends. We fell out of touch during college and the years right after college. I helped to plan our 10-year high school reunion in 2004 and got back in touch with Shannon at that time. She was a proud new mom to baby Waverly at that time. Fast-forward just a few years later.... I "found" Shannon again through a Google Search. I landed on her Blog (which was supposed to be an account of their family's travels) where she and her husband were just handed Waverly's diagnosis of MPS III. I began to read her blog daily, and was heartbroken to read that their second child, Oliver, also tested positive for MPS III.

As a mother, I just can't imagine being handed news that both of your precious children have a terminal disease. As a friend, I am heartbroken that such a wonderful person has to suffer.

You can read more about Waverly and Oliver at A Hundred For A Home - an awareness and fund-raising site for their family.

Weekend Update

2009-05-18T09:07:00.003-04:00

(Can you find the little toad in the above photo? Isn't he cute?)

Oh my goodness were we busy this weekend!

Jacob and I got a head start on the weekend by going to a few yard sales on Friday morning. We had a nice time, and came home with a few treasures (2 new DVDs - still in wrap, a new Nerf toy, several great books, and two of those big balls you can hop on). Friday night we went to Ryan's school carnival. That was really fun - lots of fun bouncy things to play with. And we did Spin Art - what a blast!

Saturday, we had a day camp outing with our Brownie troop. The weather wasn't the nicest, but we did manage to have a good time hiking, playing in the creek and cooking over a fire. The sun came out for the last half of the afternoon and the girls had a blast catching minnows and crayfish in the creek!

Sunday was Girl Scout day at Dorney Park (local amusement Park), so we packed up the family and spent the day having fun there. Maddie tried a REAL roller coaster this time (ThunderHawk) and LOVED it! It was chilly all day (didn't feel like May at all!) but we had a great time.

I am VERY behind in my housework, since I wasn't home all weekend. But it was worth it - we made some great memories!

(We forgot the camera at both the carnival and Dorney Park, so no pics from those events).

Bathroom cleaning update

2009-05-14T09:16:00.000-04:00

I promise - I really am trying to get these bathrooms decluttered and cleaned!

I did squeeze a little time in yesterday and cleaned the 1st floor powder room. I washed all the carpets & towels, scrubbed the floors, did a general cleaning and decluttered the little toilet-top cabinet. It's probably the easiest bathroom to clean - because it's TINY and we don't keep much in there.

But I did find some diaper cream samples tossed in a drawer, as well as a few leftover cloth wipes and baby washcloths. I tossed them out, and one drawer now hosts some personal items for me while the other has become a First Aid drawer (since this bathroom is right by the backdoor, it's the bathroom that mends skinned knees and removes splinters!). Now I can just pull out one drawer and find band aids, tweezers, etc!

So that one's DONE! Yay!

I started on the kids' bathroom upstairs - bought a few bins/baskets at Walmart and began to go through their vanity. it's still a mess though - I guess I need to tackle the toilet-top cabinet next and try to move things into there so that it's more organized.

I'm taking baby steps, but I am getting there!

My bathrooms - from bottom to top

2009-05-12T09:28:00.004-04:00

I just read MooMama's post about Spring Cleaning her bathrooms and I have been inspired to tackle mine this week (or, this week and next - we'll see what time I find this week!).

Bathrooms are no small feat in this house - we have FOUR. It seems obscene at times - having nearly as many bathrooms as people, but (aside from cleaning) it's a good thing.

My bathrooms could all use a good spring cleaning and decluttering. Most of them could also use some clever problem solving and decorating.

Let's meet Bathroom #1 - The Basement Half Bath

This poor bathroom almost didn't happen. When we were building this house, we opted to pay for the plumbing rough-in because we could envision kids having sleepovers down in the basement at some point. We thought a bathroom would help keep guests in the basement. Of course, the builder "forgot" to put the plumbing in and we almost just took the refund for the plumbing. It was a royal pain, but we finally did opt for them to come and install the plumbing (what a mess!) and we are so glad we did! This bathroom was a lifesaver many times (especially when Jacob was potty learning!).

Anyway, this is just a little ole powder room, but we also have some great built-in shelves (because there are a few clean-out-pipe-things in that corner that we needed to have some sort of access to). We store kids' games, cleaning supplies and Sam's Club bulk paper goods on these shelves.

The walls are painted a basic tan and we have a little outhouse border. It's cute - it's painted - and only kids or close family use this bathroom, so I don't really care much about how it looks. :) It certainly serves it's purpose!

Bathroom #2 - The First-Floor powder room

I've shared our little powder room before. It's the smallest room in the house, but we're glad to have it! It's right off the family room and laundry room and gets used heavily! It's painted the same tan as the basement powder room. I love how the pedestal sink looks, but miss having a vanity (and storage). The little cabinet over the toilet helps with some storage, but I keep all the cleaning supplies in the laundry room.

Bathroom #3 - The Kids' Bathroom - 2nd floor

This is our hall bathroom on the 2nd floor. It's probably the room that needs the most work. It's a basic bathroom - tub/shower combo, boring oak vanity, UGLY lighting fixture and rather small. We added the cabinet over the toilet for some extra storage, but I only keep washcloths and toiletries in this bathroom - all towels are in the linen closet in the hallway.

At this point, only the boys take baths in here. But I would love to find a better way to store shampoos, soaps etc. We have one of those racks you hang from the shower head, but it's too tall for any of the kids to reach.

We also need to do something about the towels - we still have the cheap and ugly towel bar the builder put in the house. It's really not big enough for all 3 kids' towels. I need a towel solution - badly! I also need a place for our tub mat - we usually just wind up tossing it over the shower curtain bar. Not the prettiest look!

This room also really needs some decorating. We bought the Pooh stuff when we were getting ready to move in here. At the time, Maddie was 2 and loved Pooh. We were so happy to be moving into a house with more than one bathroom, so we embraced having a "kid" bathroom. I am kind of over the Pooh stuff now, yet I still want this bathroom to feel comfy for the kids. But no more animation in the bathroom.

Bathroom #4 - The Master Bedroom Bath

This is "my" bathroom. It's small, but we have gotten very used to having a bath right off our bedroom. There is no tub - just an extra-wide shower. I like our shower curtain, but that's about all I like in the bathroom. All of the stuff on the walls are leftovers from our bathroom at the old house, and I need a change! We need a solution for our tub mat in this room too. And we are over-run with bottles of shampoo and shower gel in the shower, so we really need some sort of shelving in the shower itself.

We've done almost no decorating here. The walls are still buidlers primer. UGLY medicine cabinet - UGLY light fixure. I love the function of this room - there is just about no form though.

So - any ideas for my storage/decorating needs? I am going to start from the bottom up with my cleaning and decluttering, and i'll post my progress as it's made. Just think - once I have the bathrooms under control, I'll have 1/4 of my house clean!

How I love this child!

2009-05-12T09:22:00.003-04:00

Jacob makes me laugh every day. He's such a funny kid, and I love that about him.

This morning, we were walking home from the bus stop and he held up his thumb and said "Look at my thumb, Mommy." Now, he sucks his thumb, so it's often wrinkly and yucky, so I asked him if it was wrinkled.

"No - it has a HOLE in it! Mommy, there's a hole in my thumb - Dear Liza, dear Liza - There's a hole in my thumb, Dear Liza, a hole."

I guess we have listened to Kids' Songs one too many times! LOL

It's SUMMER...

2009-05-09T12:04:00.002-04:00

Well, at least according to my place of employment it's summer. As of 1:00 p.m. today, we are into the summer semester here at the community college. Know what that means? It means I don't go into work on a Saturday until late August!

I love my job here - I really do. But it's so nice having the summers off!

Let the summer begin!

Spending money to save?

2009-05-07T14:49:00.002-04:00

I just subscribed to our local newspaper. We haven't received the newspaper for over 5 years now (as part of our cost-cutting methods), but I also do not get the coupons! I started buying a paper at the convenience store on occasion, and thought perhaps it was time to start getting the paper at home.

I prepaid $109.20 for a year of Wed-Sun service - this means I'll get all the good yard sale ads on Friday & Saturday AND all the ads and coupons on Sunday. Hopefully I'll recoup my $109.20 in savings over the course of the year.

"Cold Arms"

2009-05-07T13:15:00.002-04:00

Jacob likes to snuggle. But not the way most little ones would - there's no snuggling in my lap, or nuzzling with my neck. Nope. This kid likes my "cold arms."

For as long as I can remember, he loves when I wear short sleeves and he can rub my upper arms. He does it when he needs to feel reassured, when he's tired, hurt or just needs some extra love. I guess it started when he was done nursing?

Sometimes I just wish that he would come up and give me a big old hug. But then I think about how totally JACOB this "cold arms" thing is and hope that he still wants to hug my arms for a bit longer.

Good website - great for Pennsylvanians!

2009-05-06T14:16:00.002-04:00

http://extension.psu.edu/livingbetter/default.html

Check out this website (Living Better for Less). There is all sorts of information for those who want to save money by living more simply!

This is the organization that provided me with a FREE compost bin last night, so if you live in PA you may be able to take advantage of some of their programs!

Composting

2009-05-05T22:22:00.002-04:00

Tonight, I attended a FREE composting lecture and received my very own FREE compost bin (An Earth Machine). How cool is that?

i am not sure how my neighbors will feel about me composting (after all, we live in pretty close quarters in a townhome), but I think I can find a spot which is not offensive to them. And, as the presenters tonight told us, if you compost correctly, there won't be an offensive smell at all.

We were told that we can have compost ready-to-use in 8 weeks. If it ever stops raining here in PA, I'll give it a try!

A new project

2009-05-04T22:08:00.002-04:00

I am not sure what exactly I have gotten myself into, but I am officially a member of our (gulp) 15-year High School reunion committee.

I met with some old classmates the other night and today I am knee-deep in menus, budgets and entertainment! There's a lot of work to be done before we host this event! It's almost like planning a wedding!

I am thankful that I have a nice group helping to plan and execute this event. It was really fun catching up with some old classmates (I was not good friends with any of the people involved, but it was a real pleasure to get reacquainted!) and making plans for a super fun night with even more classmates.

The expected date is Thanksgiving weekend, which gives us about 6 months to get ready for this.

Wish me luck!

I'm normal - hooray!

2009-05-04T15:31:00.000-04:00

Please disregard my previous posts - I am "normal" again. :) What a relief for the whole household!

Getting personal

2009-05-02T09:07:00.002-04:00

Okay - time to get personal. I'll try not to give too much info here, but I need to get some of these thoughts out of my head, and this seems like the best venue to do it.

I've been having some issues with my monthly cycle. For several months, I was having some spotting midcycle (which is not the norm for me). I talked to my midwife about it twice, and we decided that there was no cause for alarm - it's most likely either harmless cysts or just a change in my hormones.

This month I have the opposite problem. I am over a week LATE and there is no sign of my visitor showing up any time soon.

Now, there is very little chance that I could be pregnant, but the possibility does exist. So I've taken 2 pregnancy tests this week and both were, without a doubt, negative. Yet here I am - day 37 of a normally 27/28-day cycle.

So my head is spining. Last few months, I was bleeding too much. Now I am not bleeding at all.

A pregnancy would be very much unplanned and a BIG shock (how on earth can we afford another child - we have no materinty or baby stuff left in our house - and we'd need a bigger house!) to both Craig and I, but at least it would be an answer. I doubt that I am pregnant though - a test would show up positive at this point.

I am worried a bit that something could be wrong. Or nervous that I could be going into early menopause or something. I am sure I am jumping the gun, but I've only been this late three times in my life (and those times are named Maddie, Ryan and Jacob).

I have been slightly late (like 3-4 days late) a few times. Most recently, it was when my sister announced a pregnancy and shortly after miscarried (chemical pregnancy). A month ago, the same thing happened to her again - and she then discovered she was pregnant AGAIN (without even having a cycle after her loss - this one is looking WONDERFUL for her and will hopefully stick!). I wonder if her hormones are having an effect on mine.

Craig is a bit worried - and I am trying to keep him calm. He doesn't know if he should be worried about another baby on the way, or if he's worried something could be wrong with me. I have told my sister that I am late (she brought me the 1st pregnancy test LOL) too.

Hopefully I'll know what's going on soon. This is driving me half-crazy!

I've been quiet

2009-05-01T22:56:00.001-04:00

I guess I haven't had much to say lately!

We're just going about our daily lives here - nothing too exciting going on at this time (which is probably a good thing).

The biggest thing that happened this week was I finally gave my notice to my final babysitting client. I will be totally done with babysitting by June 11th! My part-time job also goes on hiatus during the summer, so I only have 2 more weeks of working on Saturday mornings. This is going to be a HUGE change for all of us - and I think it will be a positive one! Of course, we'll miss that extra income quite a bit, but the extra family time will be worth it. I am actually looking forward to cooking, cleaning and being a mom and housewife again!

Summer in April!

2009-04-28T09:17:00.003-04:00

Just wanted to post some photos from our weekend. There's been a heat wave in Eastern PA this week - with 90-degree temps and lots and lots of SUN!

We were able to hang out at home on Sunday and the kids were thrilled to get out the pool and spend the afternoon swimming with their cousin and neighbors!

It's still HOT here, but the weather is going to change tomorrow and go back to more seasonable temperatures. We enjoyed our little summer preview, but I will be glad when Spring returns.
You can see my new laundry line in the background! And my little garden - you can't see the sugar snap peas though (they are about 6 inches high right now). I'll be planting more in another week or so. And we're adding some additional "beds" for the kids to call their own.

FANTASTIC deal at Redner's Warehouse Markets (Lehigh County, PA)

2009-04-26T20:56:00.002-04:00

This post is for those readers also in the Lehigh Valley area.

I shop at Redner's Markets - they have great prices and good service. And they are right down the street from me.

But I found an unbelievable deal while shopping this evening. They are having a "Pick 5 for $19.95" deal on meats. There was an entire cooler in the meat section filled with different types of meats and you can mix-and-match whatever you would like (you do have to buy in increments of 5 though).

Chicken breast tenderloins, whole chickens, steaks, sausages, pork chops, fish, scallops, ground beef... lots to choose from! And they even included some more prepared foods like fish sticks, chicken nuggets and Lloyd's BBQ too!

I bought 10 items (some of my steaks were priced at $9.50 - and I got them for $4!). I was talking with the meat manager, and he said that Redner's will be running this sale twice a month because of the positive response they got!

I am going to go back and buy more. I will not have my income in 6 weeks, so having a fully stocked freezer at these prices will be a blessing!

A Sunny Sunday

2009-04-26T20:43:00.003-04:00

What a lovely day we had today! It is still BEAUTIFUL here in PA - almost 90-degrees and sunny!

We all woke up a bit early this morning. I was able to take a relaxing 30-minute walk before the whole house was up. I started laundry as soon as I got home while Craig mowed the lawn.

And then we got to try our brand new laundry clothes line! YAY! We bought one of those umbrella style laundry lines last year but never got around to putting it up. We aren't allowed to have a "permanent" laundry line in our neighborhood, so this is perfect as it pops right in and out of the little hole. I hung 4 loads of laundry today and there was still room! I LOVE IT! I'm going to try to do sheets and towels tomorrow!

While I was hanging the laundry, Craig blew up the kiddie pool. We planned on filling it and letting the water have a chance to warm up before letting the kids in, but as soon as there was even an inch of water they had to be in there too!

They "swam" all day! We had a nice visit from my sister and nephew too, and several neighbors came over to join us as well. It was fun!

We bought a new grill too - although Craig couldn't fit the assembled one in the van, so it's still in pieces in the box! Hopefully we can grill tomorrow!

I am exhausted after being in the sun all day - but it was fun!

Weekend Update

2009-04-25T08:10:00.002-04:00

Nope - I am not watching Saturday Night Live!

It's been a busy weekend already, and it's only 8:10 AM on Saturday!

Yesterday, we had our yard sale with a few other neighbors. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and we sold over half of our "treasures" and made $200! Yay! I forgot the sunscreen though, and have a sunburned neck now! And I did let Ryan skip school and stay at the yard sale with me - he sold $7.75-worth of lemonade. :) Unfortunately, we won't have to lie on his excuse blank for school - by mid-afternoon I knew he wasn't feeling quite right. Poor guy had a 101-fever! He took a nice, long rest in the afternoon and felt better (oh, I think the Motrin helped a bit too).

I was worried about him being sick - because last night was Ryan and Maddie's birthday party at Bounce U! We had 22 (yes - 22!) kids there last night. Despite one little guy missing his mom too much, another cutting his thumb and a few bops on the head from flying basketballs , everyone had a great time!

I have to give a big THUMBS UP to Bounce U. Yes, they were pricy, but they throw a nice party! We spilt this party between Maddie and Ryan's friends, so I paid less for one big party than I would have for 2 smaller ones. We won't be able to do big parties like this every year, but we had the money available this year so we went for it! We had 75-minutes of "bounce time" and 45 minuntes in the party room (where we opted to order pizza and drink for all the kids/parents in addition to our cupcake *cakes are the only food you are allowed to bring to Bounce U*). I really enjoyed watching my kids play with their friends from school. I only know a select few friends, so this was a great opporunity to meet some new ones - and I met some really nice moms too!

This morning, I am at work. Before I left, I got all the remaining yard sale goodies out and our neighbor is going to sell my goodies (in return, we let her take over the other half of our driveway with her stuff!). I hope to find everything GONE when I get home!

Best new is, this yard sale money has just about filled our anticipated budget for adding days onto our vacation - so all 14 days will be paid for soon! (We just added a 3-night stay in Myrtle BEach to our Orlando vacation - hooray!).

I wonder what the rest of this beautiful weekend will have in store?

Just when you make a decision....

2009-04-23T09:02:00.002-04:00

Last night Craig and I sat down and talked about my job and plans for this summer. It was not an argument at all - he was very supportive and agreed with everything I brought up. There were some tears involved as I talked about how I feel like I missed out on the past two years of the kids' lives - how I am glad that I was home with them, yet feel like I missed out on so much because of having a day care. We agreed I should give notice to my last daycare child for June and become a full-time SAHM again.

I went to bed feeling very good about things and looking forward to this summer with the kids. However, when I woke up, I started feeling really badly about giving notice to K's mom. It's not that K is a problem - we really like her. I just have this need to be with my own kids.

To top things off, I talked with Maddie about this. I told her that I was thinking that I wouldn't babysit anymore and that we would have the summer to be with just our family. We talked about vacation, pools, going to the zoo etc. And do you know what she did?

She cried.

She was so upset that I was considering not having K at our house. She said she would really miss her - even if they have been fighting more than usual lately. I reminded her that just because I wouldn't be K's babysitter didn't mean they can't be friends. We live less than a mile from her and they go to the same school. Playdates would be inevitable - regardless of my employment.

I still really feel like I should make the move to a SAHM, but I will give Maddie an option to give her vote too. She has never been fond of any change, so I wasn't overly surprised with her reaction. If she really will be too upset NOT having K here, I will consider keeping her. But I am hoping that Maddie sees that I am looking to have time as a family. I know that in a year or two, Maddie will be more interested in friends than mom - and that's why I feel that I need to do this now.

I wish this were easier on everyone. A year ago, Maddie would have been fine with having time with just me. She's growing up too quickly.

Powder Room

2009-04-22T12:59:00.003-04:00

I tried to snap a few pictures of our 1st floor powder room, but the room is so tiny that it was really hard to do!

It's such a tiny room! But I guess it has everything a powder room really needs. I really like the pretty pedestal sink (even though it means there is no storage in the room!). We added the cabinet over the toilet and it provides enough room for a few rolls of paper and other items.

We painted this room a few years ago - it's just boring old tan (it's actually the leftover boring tan from our basement). I tried to dress it up a little with some framed prints (from Kohl's - where else?) and a pretty berry wreath. I added the berries around the mirror last year. It's okay - but I want to find the time to actually frame the mirror one of these days.

What it all boils down to....

2009-04-21T21:04:00.002-04:00

I had Ryan's parent-teacher conference tonight. His teacher had lots of nice things to say about him - his excellent reading skills, classroom citizenship, math skills (I could go on - can you tell I am proud of him?)....

But the biggest thing that I took away from the conference was when she said "You know, Ryan just loves Fridays. He comes off the bus with a huge smile and he tells me 'My mom doesn't have the other kids today. We get to go for lunch at (*fill in the blank*) today - just me and Mommy and Jacob!' I hope you know just how much it means to him that you spend those Fridays with him."

Indeed - THIS is what is important. Ryan does not go into to school on Thursdays and say "Hooray - my mom gets paid today!" Nope - he cares about Fridays - the only day of the week that I am home with just him (and his brother).

I have been looking for a sign telling me what to do about babysitting. I think this may have been it, don't you?

We're havin' a Yard Sale!

2009-04-21T12:32:00.002-04:00

Our neighborhood is kind of known for having great yard sales - usually in mid-May. They changed the date on us this year, and I was bummed that they moved it to April (when I am still working on Saturdays). A bunch of my close neighbors wanted to also hold their sales on Friday, and I am thrilled that I can join them for at least one day!

I have my garage sale system down pretty well. I have a stack of boxes in my storage room that are just for garage sale items - I organize and price all items before they go into the boxes. I have about 7 boxes ready-to-go with almost no work!

I have been running through my house finding more items. We're paring down the kids' VHS collection, going through some toys and delving deep into the basement storage to get rid of some of those items we never use.

i am also *sniff sniff* getting rid of our baby stuff. I don't have a lot left (most I gave away to family or friends, or sold on Craigslist), but I do have a Jumparoo, a pack-n-play and a few other things that I am ready to part with now (I held on to most items in case I did more childcare - I know I won't be doing that anymore, so I will get rid of it).

I still won't part with my slings though! We rarely babywear anymore, but I am still hanging on to those!

So here's hoping I make some nice money on Friday - and clean out the house a bit too. I am also considering keeping Ryan home from school that day. He's in morning kindergarten, but it's parent-teacher conference week, so he only goes to school for 90 minutes. He has a HUGE interest in money, and I think helping with a yard sale would be an excellent lesson for him. He's never missed a day of school, so I think we could take a nice, little "homeschool" break from public school on Friday! I am hoping I can get my mom to watch Jacob, so that I can give my full attention to Ryan that morning.

For any of you in the Lehigh Valley - stop by and find some bargains! I'll be out on Friday morning, but the HUGE sale in on Saturday (2 seperate townhome developments and 2 single-home developments too!). It's supposed to be a nice weekend!

budget buster (not really!)

2009-04-21T09:53:00.002-04:00

Okay - so we have been talking about sticking with a budget, cutting out things like cable tv, etc.

Well, last night we made the decision to order Tivo HD for my husband. LOL

He's been wanting one since we got the new tv (we previously had regular Tivo - an invention that came straight from heaven IMHO). In an attempt to save a little money, we canceled Tivo and got a DVR from our cable company. WRONG MOVE! The DVR just doesn't work. We've tried and tried, but we have nothing but problems.

We ran the numbers (yet again) last night, and figured out that Tivo HD will cost us $3 more a month than what we are paying for now. Of course, we have to buy the unit itself.

We had budgeted for a new videocamera before our vacation, but Craig just told me he's getting all new camera at work and we can "borrow" one of the older ones for our vacation - eliminating the need to buy one at this time. So we'll use the camera money to buy Tivo and everyone is happy.

i amglad that I can help my husband get what he wants - he doesn't ask for too much. And I am REALLY glad I can do it without breaking the budget!

Gratitude

2009-04-20T19:56:00.002-04:00

I have been feeling a little down lately. I feel like I have lots of big decisions to make, but that it's not yet the time to make the decision.

I just wanted to remind myself that although I am very frustrated at times, I have much to be thankful for. I am thankful for:

My 3 healthy, beautiful children.
My loving husband who is truly my "other half."
My home - which provides us with shelter and offers us more space than we really do need.
My husband's job - which provides everything we need and then some.
My jobs - which have provided us with a year of financial freedom and a big old fun vacation (already paid for!) coming up in June.
My education - I have a BA in English Literature, and there has never been a moment where I have regretted my education - ever.
My family - tomorrow is my Brother-In-Law's birthday, and it's been crazy trying to schedule a little celebration for him. But I am so blessed to have family who is close enough to me that we have to worry about getting together at least once a week.
My neighbors - I sometimes complain about living in a close-quarters townhome development, but the truth is that I have some wonderful people living close to me who will never hesitiate to lend a hand if I need it!
My friends - I don't have many close friends anymore, but today I was thinking of a good friend. 20 years of memories!
My garden - I am so thankful I have been given a little piece of the earth to call my own! It's amazing that soon 100 sq ft will be feeding my family.

There's so much more to be thankful for. I am a truly blessed woman - even if I worry too much about money, jobs, weight and the unattainable quest for "perfection."

Budget - Part 2

2009-04-20T09:05:00.002-04:00

I never posted my budget findings (it was way too nice of a weekend - we were outside and not on the computer much!).

The main answer is that if we want to continue to keep our standard of living, I need to keep babysitting over the summer. :( Otherwise, it's down to +$5 at the end of the month, and that's cutting it a little too close.

It's frustrating at times. We used to live off of one income with little problem. But we cut our bills as much as possible and truly lived a VERY frugal lifestyle. Over the years, as our income increased, we changed our lifestyle. Some things, like eating out several times a week, bother me very much, and I can't wait until I am not working 6 days a week so that I can cook my family healthy and CHEAPER meals. But things like our $150-cable bill bother me to no end. My husband is a media guy - it's what he does for a living. I saved up money and (finally - in his opinion) bought him a big screen HDTV this winter. Of course, that increased our cable bill substantially. My husband does not go out with "the guys," golf, drink, or anything like that, so I guess I can't really complain too much about his HDTV cable package.

Back to the budget - I kept it realistic, which means I probably over-budgeted for a few things and we would have a little more in our pockets at the end of the month, but it's still tight.

So my first thought was that I really need to keep babysitting. Even the extra $100 a week (although far below what I should get paid for a full 48-hours of care each week) pays for the groceries (and then some!).

But I just can't stop that nagging feeling that I am missing out on time with MY kids, and I really want to see if this will work. The reality is, by the time we get home from our big vacation, there are only 9 weeks of summer left. "K" will likely go on vacation for a week (usually 2) as well - leaving only 7 weeks that I would actually get paid. Is $700 worth not being able to do things with my children?

If I would quit, our budget would be tight. BUT - it's only for 9 weeks. Then I would be back to work int he fall (just on Saturday mornings, but the money is good enough to pay for the groceries) and the budget would not be as tight. So we may have to tap into savings for 2 months. Is that worth it?

Craig and I need to sit down and talk about this in more detail. I am really not sure what the best thing is to do.

Budgets & Decisions

2009-04-16T09:24:00.002-04:00

I am thinking about money today, and not in the "oh I have so much money I just don't know what to do with it" kind of way. I am trying to figure out just how little money we can bring in and still maintain our standard of living (or at least close to it).

We've never really had a budget. Back when I was still working full-time and was pregnant with my first child, I sort of drew up a budget. We knew we wanted me to stay home as much as possible, so we took a huge inventory of our assets vs. liabilities and did manage to create a budget which allowed me to significantly cut back on my hours after Maddie was born. But that budget soon went out the window, and we haven't really had one since that time.

It's 8 years later, and we have an entirely different financial situation at this point. I work a part-time job (Saturdays) and currently work full-time hours doing childcare. This past year has been terribly stressful for me, but we've had a great income. I have given notice to 3 (out of 4) childcare clients that I will be ending my position in June. The plan has been to continue watching "K: (an 8-year-old girl) and use that income to get us through the summer.

Really, really long story short, I am not sure things are moving in a positive direction with "K" - there has been a huge increase in the amount of fighting - especially when the kids play outdoors and our neighbor gets involved (we live in a townhome, so the backyards are rather cozy - our neighbor is also a 2nd-grader and some big problems have come up when all the girls are outside). Add to these problems the fact that when I do childcare, I can't allow my own children to do certain activities.

Maddie wants to go to Girl Scout camp this year, and I plan on sending her. All of my kids enjoy Vacation Bible School. My kids have never learned to swim - because I have always had daycare kids in my care and can't take them to lessons at the pool. The list goes on and on...... Basically, I feel like my kids have had to accept less because of the kids in my care. Even though K is mostly a good kid (with the exception of the recent fighting), I still can't let my kids go off and participate in other activities if she is in our care.

Part of me says that I should just quit - stay home with my own children. Let them take swim lessons and meet Daddy for lunch at his office once and a while. Do things that other kids with a SAHM can enjoy doing (things we haven't done for a long, long time). But the other part of me says that the money I bring in (even if it's meager and way below fair market value for my services) is still grocery money each week.

So we're back to the budgets. I really need to see if we can live off of Craig's salary alone (my part-time job has no hours in the summer, so I don't even get that little paycheck to help). I know things are going to be really, REALLY tight, but maybe we can make it work.

My children are 8, 6 and 3 - they aren't babies anymore and I feel like I have missed out on so much in the past few years. They won't be young for much longer - I really feel like I need to take the time NOW to be with them again. With Maddie approaching the "tween" years, I know it's just a matter of time before friends will seem more important than family. I want to enjoy a summer where she just wants to be with me. Maybe that's selfish in a way, but I think my selfishness really only helps them too.

I'll post tomorrow on my budget findings - hopefully good news for us. when I first started typing today, I was going to ask opinions on IF I should quit my babysitting for good. As I wrote, it's become pretty clear that it's what I really want. I just need to make it work.

Easy and Cheap Craft

2009-04-15T13:08:00.002-04:00

We made this craft a few weeks ago, and we may do a slightly different version this afternoon (flowers instead of rainbows).

If your house is anything like mine, you have a BILLION stickers all over the house. The kids enjoy simply placing the stickers on paper, but that gets old after awhile. So we came up with this idea and everyone had a great time doing this.

I have 7 children in my care during the day - and they range from 3-8 years. It's really hard finding projects that work for all ages and genders (the majority of my kids are 4 & 5 year old BOYS - who don't enjoy quiet projects. Let's be honest - they don't enjoy quiet ANYTHING). This project was so simple and such a hit!

The kids worked together to help everyone find the right color stickers. They got creative with what they used to make up with rainbow.

Best part, it just used construction paper and stickers - all which were already in the craft bins!

Something has been weighing on my mind...

2009-04-13T21:10:00.002-04:00

Weight.

Body Image.

Calories.

Exercise.

All of these things have been on my mind lately. A bit too much. I have been really down about my weight, and this weekend seemed to be a low point for me. My clothes feel tight and I feel uncomfortable. I was looking through our Easter photos, and I can't stand looking at myself in the photos. I feel like I am a whole other person than the real me.

I've been really sad for the past few days. Weight gain is one of those problems with no easy fix. I want to do something about it, but seeing any result takes a long time.

I think I have finally figured out that I need to watch what (and how much ) I eat. It's hard to eat well - especially when I am working 6 days a week! There just isn't time for cooking from scratch - some days, there just isn't time for cooking at all.

I feel like I traded my health for a meager salary. I am not happy about it. I had an appointment with my midwife (for a regular GYN annual - no baby here!) and we talked about my weight (and the effect it's having on my health). She is a wonderful, positive woman and told me that I have made good choices and that I am on the right road to losing the weight. But it's so frustrating to me that I can't just get started doing things right yet. I can try - but I still have 4 extra children here all week, and I still work on Saturdays. That leaves very little time for cooking and getting any type of exercise. I will try though.

I had a day off today. I was home with just my own children - and it was WONDERFUL! Sure, we had lots of bickering and I didn't get even close to getting all my chores done, but the stess level was so low just because I was home with my own children. I didn't get to fully enjoy it though - the thought was always there that tomorrow I will be back to the old routine with all the other kids. I'll be back to work on Saturday next weekend.

I wanted to workout tonight, but I can't stop coughing and can't even imagine trying to workout. Even yoga seems impossible when you are coughing all the time. I am taking the night off and going to try to get all of the Easter baskets and decorations put away (instead of working out). I will hope that I will be a little better tomorrow.

I need to be done feeeling sorry for myself and what I have done to my body. I need to just do something about it. I am going to start by watching what I eat and tracking the calories I take in each day. And I am going to try to get 30 minutes of exercise each day. We'll see what happens when I am able to do those two things. Hopefully I'll see some positive results by the time I am done with my babysitting job - and then I will have the time to really focus some attention on myself.

Easter Highs and Lows

2009-04-13T14:06:00.002-04:00

Wow - we've been a busy bunch of bunnies this holiday!

Here's a quick recap of what we've been up to over the past 5 days.

We dyed Easter Eggs - then forgot to take them to my inlaws, so we now have 17 hard boiled eggs here. No one really likes hard boiled eggs. :)
We did LOTS of laundry!
we celebrated Easter with both sides of the family - which means lots of goodies, egg hunts and ham!
Today (Monday) I HAVE THE DAY OFF!!!!!!!! No day care kids are here, and I have enjoyed this day so much! It's so nice to have time just with my own children!
I got sick. I have a nasty chest cold and no voice!

Here are the kids dying the eggs - they honestly had fun doing this, but it looks like I own an egg-dying seat shop and have been forcing them to color eggs for days! LOL

Here are the baskets the Easter Bunny left for the kids:

And here's a picture from our own little egg hunt:

How to Throw a (better) Birthday Party

2009-04-08T00:10:00.002-04:00

The boys' party turned out very well, but there's always room for improvement, right? Here are a few notes that will hopefully help me execute the next party better.

Party Prep

Create 2 seperate shopping lists - one for Sam's Club and one for the grocery store.
Allow enough time for the Sam's Club trip FIRST. Add anything unavailable at Sam's to the other shopping list.
Be sure to buy Fruit & Veggie trays at Sam's Club - they were less than half the price of the grocery store and served us well!
Plan an activity for Craig and the kids to do together so that they are occupied while I prep.
Run the dishwasher and EMPTY IT before the party, so it's ready to be filled again when the party is over.

8 lbs of ham is a lot! Freeze half right after slicing.
Buy more Swiss cheese (we ran out within minutes! Who knew my family likes Swiss so much?)
Buy fewer salty snacks.

Party time!

Remember to hand out favors to the guests!
Try to determine if any guests need to leave early (my cousin and her family had to leave just as we let the kids open some gifts - I wish I would have known she had to leave so that we could have started things earlier).
If it's a nice day (and it was), put outdoor toys in an obvious and accessible place for guests to use. We were scrambling for bubbles mid-party.

Clean-up

Disposable table cloths are our friend.
Somehow steal a few minutes to vacuum - even if it's late (perhaps have Craig get the kids ready for bed?). We found a few ants the morning after the party!

Hopefully I'll come back to this post before Maddie's birthday party in May!

Happy Birthday Ryan!

2009-04-06T23:18:00.003-04:00

April 7th - Ryan turns 6 today! I really can't believe how quickly the time has passed.

Six years ago today I woke up to see an April snowstorm just starting. I was a a little more than a week away from my due date, but I truly felt that I could not be pregnant for one more day. Craig, little Maddie and I all went to my regular midwife appointment (in the snow!) and discovered that I was a little over 3 cm and 100% effaced - I really wasn't going to be pregnant much longer!

My first birth was a very medical event, and I wanted something very different with my second one. With Madeline, my water broke and contractions began shortly after that. My labor with Ryan was totally different. In fact, I didn't even know I was in labor for most of the day! I remember being on the phone with my sister and mentioning that I could not bend over to pick something off the ground. She made me call my midwife, who said I was most certainly in labor.

We left for the hospital around 3:00 pm and Ryan was born just a few minutes after 7:00 pm. Ryan's birth was such a calm and gentle event. He was born underwater into the hands of our wonderful midwife. I had a rather difficult first birth, so Ryan's beautiful entrance was not only a blessing, but also a way for me to finally heal old wounds.

Ryan is our second miracle. He made Madeline a Big Sister and us very proud parents. He has always been a very high needs child. However, he can be the sweetest boy and getting a smile and hug from him will just make you glow!

Here's Ryan at just one-day old:

And here he is as a 6-year-old kingergardener:

Happy Birthday Ryan!

It's Party Time!

2009-04-05T21:57:00.003-04:00

Today was our "family party" for Ryan and Jacob. We're at that age now (at least with Maddie and Ryan) where we have 2 birthday parties - one for our family and a party just for classmates and friends. I enjoy the family party so much more!

I spent most of the weekend preparing for this party. We had about 20 people on our Guest List, which meant there were 25 people to feed and entertain. Thankfully, we were blessed with a BEAUTIFUL spring day and we were able to sit on the deck and enjoy the outdoors. The children were all able to play baseball, blow bubbles and swing all afternoon!

Menu:

8 lbs. ham - sliced and served cold (this was my gluten-free entree)
Kaiser & onion rolls - whole wheat bread (for those who wanted to create a sandwich)
American, Swiss & Colby-Jack cheeses
Salami
Potato & Macaroni salads
Pickle & olive tray
Baked Beans
Fruit & Veggie trays
Variety of salty snacks (for anyone wondering, Fritos & Tostitos are both Gluten Free)
Cheese, Pepperoni & Sausage Pizzas (from Dominos - the cheapest non-bake-at-home option).
Birthday cake & ice cream (Breyers Vanilla & Chocolate is gluten free)
Sodas, Strawberry lemonade and Iced tea

We had more than enough food (we ate less than half of the ham, so I guess I need to look for some good ham recipes this week!) and everyone was stuffed by the end of the night! You can see that we actually had 2 cakes - the Indiana Jones cake and a smaller birthday cake. Ryan's birthday is April 7th, and he shares that day with my Grandfather (who is turning 79!). It's fun to celebrate 3 birthdays at one party!

My Indiana Jones cake was a HUGE hit! I found a photo of this cake online and copied it for my boys' cake. It was both adorable and delicious!

For party favors, I gave each child a shovel and pail with their name on it. The pail was filled with a small notebook, pencils or crayons and a few sweet treats. We have two older "tweens" in the family, and they received the same goodies, but in a pretty paper sack. (Note, I had every intention of giving favors to all our guests, but it just didn't get done this time).

The house is a bit of a mess at this point. Thankfully, Craig has offered to do most of the cleaning (since I did all of the prep work AND played Hostess-with-the Mostess all day). We nearly always have parties on Sundays since I work on Saturdays, and the post-party clean-up is always the hardest part.

Tomorrow, I want to reflect on what parts of the party went smoothly, and where we can do better next time.

A hunting we will go....

2009-04-05T21:50:00.002-04:00

On Saturday, we went to an Easter Egg Hunt. The kids were invited to participate in a great Egg Hunt which is run by a local park. It's a great event!

It was very cold that day - we all ended up in winter coats, hats and mittens. And oh my was it ever WINDY!

We had a great time despite the weather, and the children came home with lots of candy and many prizes (I love that this hunt does not do "prize eggs," but rather lets each child choose a set number of prizes. It makes the hunt more fun for everyone!).

What a fun day!

Happy Birthday Jacob!

2009-04-03T11:11:00.004-04:00

My baby turned 3 today! We haven't done too much celebrating (yet), but we're going to meet my Dad for lunch and have a special dinner tonight.

On Sunday, we'll have a party for both Jacob and Ryan (who turns 6 on April 7th) - and *my* Grandfather will turn 79 on April 7th as well!

Here's Jacob at one-week old:

And here he is today - An energetic 3-year-old!

Happy April Fool's Day - I mean, Happy Anniversary!

2009-04-01T09:21:00.002-04:00

Yes indeed, today is my 9th wedding anniversary! We were able to go out for dinner last night to celebrate. Craig always works late on Wednesdays, so I actually won't see him until late tonight.

Craig did surprise me with some beautiful roses this morning - and breakfast from Chik-Fil-A (they are having a free breakfast every Wednesday in April - at least at ours!).

Here we are 9 years ago:

Whose responsibility?

2009-03-30T14:28:00.002-04:00

I am planning my boys' birthday party for this Sunday. We have a small group of close family as guests, and it's always laid-back and informal. In past years, the menu has been mostly pizza, Stromboli, chicken fingers, meatballs or sandwiches. Last year, my aunt was diagnosed with Celiac's disease and must not follow a gluten-free diet.

Of course, this means I need to change our normal menu a bit, because she can't eat any of the foods I mentioned! After some research and thought, I decided to buy a whole ham which I will serve cold (I will offer breads and rolls for those who are able to eat wheat products). I will also have an assortment of cheeses, veggies, fruits, potato salad, munchies and, of course, cake and ice cream.

I've learned which brands and flavors of ice cream are gluten free so that my aunt can enjoy that as a dessert (the cake is just not an option).

But I am wondering, whose responsibility is it when it comes to special dietary needs?

As I planned my menu, I received different opinions from people. Some said that I should continue to serve what I normally would - my aunt is free to eat what she is able from the food I have provided. Others thought I should plan for a gluten-free "entree."

What's your take on this? If you know a guest must follow a certain diet (for medical reasons - not for weight watching), are you obligated as a host to accommodate that diet? How would you feel if you found out AFTER a party that one of your guest had dietary restrictions you were not aware of at the time?

I personally feel that I have invited my aunt as a guest in my home - it is my responsibility to provide her with a meal she can eat. I am fully aware of her restrictions, and I am willing to take a few extra minutes to change my normal menu (it wasn't hard, and I actually think this ham will feed more people and prove to be cheaper than some other options we have had in the past).

My aunt would never want to know that I am having this conversation at all. She will always say "don't worry about me - I have plenty I can eat." But I do think it's my responsibility as a host.

how do you feel?

Helllloooo April!

2009-03-30T09:15:00.002-04:00

I know, I am early, but I am very excited that April is almost here! April is the first "real" month of spring (in my opinion) and I can't wait for some lovely April weather.

April 1st is also my wedding anniversary, and we're looking forward to celebrating 9 years together!

My boys have April birthdays - Jacob will turn 3 on the 3rd and Ryan will be 6 on the 7th!

So this week is a busy, busy week for us. Thankfully Maddie is finally feeling better (this morning was her first morning in a week without a fever!) because we have lots to do! Craig and I are going to try to find time to go out for our anniversary sometime this week. The boys' have a birthday party with our family on Sunday afternoon, so I have lots to do to get ready for that. We also have an Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday morning, and I am so excited that I can go with the children (I normally work on Saturdays, but I offered to switch with a co-worker and now I'll be off that day! Yay!).

So goodbye cold, windy March and bring on the April springtime!

BANG BANG BANG

2009-03-30T09:02:00.006-04:00

That's the noise we heard on Sunday night as a huge storm blew through town. There was thunder, lightening, and HAIL - lots of hail. It started out as pea-sized and then got much bigger. We were worried about our cars (we have a one-car garage which is too small for either car, so they are parked in the driveway), but there doesn't seem to be any damage.

The kids were terrified! We have a skylight in the living room and the hail was REALLY loud on it. I was actually a little worried that if the hail got any bigger that it would crack the skylight, so we stayed out of the living room!

Here's the hail about 20 minutes AFTER the storm:

And the rain waters running through our backyard:

And, because we can't have the camera out and NOT have Jacob posing, a picture of a very silly Jacob and Mommy.

Our "Honey-Do" List

2009-03-26T12:40:00.002-04:00

Here's what needs to be done around our house in the near future:

Remove old (DEAD) microwave from above the stovetop
Install NEW microwave
Take yard waste to recycling center
Repair and repaint water-damaged drywall around the front window (we had an ice dam and leak on Christmas Eve).
Caulk around front window outside.

There's lots more to do, but that's the focus for the next few weeks. We have VERY limited time to work on projects. Craig and I both work Monday-Friday (I work from home doing childcare, but it still means there is no time for extra projects. I am lucky if I can get a load of laundry done now and then). I also work outside of the home on Saturday mornings. That only leaves a tiny bit of Saturday afternoon and Sundays to do any projects. So this simple list will take us a few weeks.

I long for summer when I will have time to tackle things during the week AND I no longer work on Saturdays (I work for a college and have no hours during the summer semester). We'll get so much done (when I am done recovering from surgery that its!).

Ready and waiting...

2009-03-25T13:00:00.004-04:00

Spring can't get here soon enough for me! I prepped the garden about 2 weeks ago, and I planted our sugar snap peas on St. Patrick's Day! Of course, it got COLD right after that, so I am not sure how well they will do.

I am a gardening novice. I made this raised bed 2 years ago, and the first year we had a GREAT yield! Last year, nothing did overly well. I am hoping to do a little better this year.

And, we're going to expand the garden! Maddie asked for her own little patch of ground, so we're going to add a few raised beds for the kids to call their own. I may make a few extra for ME too!

We used raised beds because the quality of our soil is terrible. It's mostly clay, but our house is actually built over top an old junk yard, so there is all sorts of YUCK mixed in our soil. The raised beds have worked well.

I am going to a composting seminar in May, so we'll be giving that a try this year too!

It's Wednesday -

2009-03-25T12:53:00.001-04:00

and Day Three of Maddie being sick. :(

She started with a fever on Monday evening and was home from school yesterday and today. We paid the doctor a visit today, and she said there is a nasty virus going around that can last up to 5 days! So we're at the halfway mark.

She feels a little better today, but still has fever and is achy once the Motrin wears off. I wish I could make her feel a little better, but there isn't much to do.

The doctor said keeping her hydrated and keeping her blood sugars up are very important, so "put nutrition rules aside" and get her to eat or drink anything!

So, she had an ice pop for breakfast and a glass of Hawaiian Punch and half a blueberry muffin for lunch. The doctor did say put nutrition aside, right?

Is today over yet?

2009-03-24T21:40:00.003-04:00

I had so many plans for today - and then NOTHING went according to plan at all.

Maddie was not feeling well last night, so it was not a big surprise to have her wake up with a fever and still feeling icky. So Maddie got to stay home from school.

I spent nearly 45 minutes on the phone with Disney Dining trying to (once again) get a reservation for the Sci-Fi Restaurant. There are NO reservations available - lunch or dinner - the entire week we will be in Orlando. I did, however, manage to snag a dinner reservation at Le Cellier for my parents. Yay!

Then it was time for lunch prep - and my barely 5-year-old microwave DIES. It runs - the timer works - but it will not heat food. Doesn't even make it break a sweat.

Therefore, I got to spend my afternoon researching new microwaves (because one call to our appliance repair shop told us it was cheaper to buy a new one rather than repair the "old" one).

By 4:00 my mind was fried. The daycare boys were WILD all afternoon, and my daycare girl came home and didn't seem like her normal self. She pretty much reinforced that when she began vomiting in my kitchen (at least she made it to the garbage can!).

So, now I have my own sick child (who at this point is feeling worse and the fever has gone up to 102.5), a sick daycare child, a toddler who just pooped in his big boy pants, a broken microwave and have to plan to somehow get to a store and purchase a new microwave.

My dad was nice enough to offer to pick me up to go shopping (so that Craig could stay home and tend to the boys and poor, sick Maddie). I quick opted to reheat leftovers for dinner - BUT NO MICROWAVE! LOL Thankfully Craig had one in his office so he brought that home and saved the day.

In the end, poor Maddie is still super sick (I am actually a little worried if this fever doesn't go down after this latest dose of Motrin). I did manage to buy a new microwave at Sears tonight (after visiting MANY stores).

I have a feeling tomorrow isn't going to be much easier than today - and Craig works late on Wednesdays! I think I am going to shortly be switching over to "survival mode." These are the days that I am super glad my kids have way too many clothes - because I just don't know how I would even fit laundry in my day!

Hope you all are having a better Tuesday!

Prayers please

2009-03-23T16:21:00.002-04:00

I have a prayer request - I just spoke with my sister after she received some test results back from the doctor - she is having her second miscarriage this year. :(

This will be the second "chemical pregnancy" for her, and although the doctors say it's perfectly normal and she has every reason to believe she will get pregnant again soon, she's still devastated beyond belief.

I am very sad for her. I feel like I have no words, because I have never been in this situation. I just let her cry and be sad and angry and hurt - and hope that she feels better some day soon.

She has a beautiful 2-year-old son already and she loves him to pieces, but people keep telling her that she basically shouldn't be too upset about this loss because she has a son already. I understand that she hurts for THIS baby too.

Also, her husband has 2 sisters who have been trying to conceive for nearly 2 years. One has had a string of miscarriages - the other is unable to conceive at all. My sister's MIL has lost 5 grandchildren this year.

So if you could keep her (Lori) and her family in your prayers I would appreciate it. They would too.

My favorite appliances

2009-03-23T13:44:00.002-04:00

Sometimes, you just need to step back and be thankful to be a housewife and mother in the 21st century. There are a few things that make my day a little easier.

First - my best friend - the Shark cordless sweeper. I originally bought one of these for $11 off of a Kohl's clearance rack. It quickly became the most used appliance in the house. I keep this bad boy in the kitchen and use him after every single meal! It has a rolling brush, so it even gets crumbs and dirt off of the kitchen mats! Shark #1 finally died a month ago, so I have a replacement. This one wasn't $11, but still worth every penny!

Second - my slow cooker. I use my slow cooker fairly often, and love how easy it is to make a meal in it! Tonight, we're having spaghetti and meatballs. BUT I found a slice in the slow cookers cord today *GASP* So tonight, it's off to Kohl's for a new slow cooker (I guess 9 years is a good life).

Preparing for our Disney Vacation

2009-03-21T09:07:00.003-04:00

I have mentioned our Disney vacation before. It's a huge deal to all of us in our family. We have taken a few small trips with the kids in the past (we've gone on short 3-day trips to Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, PA and spent a mini-week at Rehoboth Beach, DE two years ago), but we've never done a BIG vacation. This was partly due to cost, and partly due to us being kind of chicken to take 3 yound children very far.

In June, we're headed to Disney for 8 days! And we're driving - from PA to Florida - for a total of 4 days on the road. We have saved our pennies (and nickles, and dimes - and a whole bunch of dollars too!) so that we can pay for this trip in cash (which is such a great feeling).

This trip started out as a 5-day visit to Orlando for our family (while Craig attends a conference there). We were going to do DIsney for just 2 days. It has grown to 8 days in Orlando (plus our travel time), a huge vacation rental home (to accomodate our family of 5 PLUS my parents who offered to come help with the kids) and lots and lots of planning!

We are less than 90 days from our vacation now, I have launched into full Disney mode. My focus this week was on FOOD - we made reservations for 2 charachter meals at Disney! Now that those reservations are in place, I have shifted my focus to the actual care ride to Florida.

I have been collecting little gifts to give the kids along the way - little toys and games for the car ride, special edible treats, etc. I am trying to find some special "state line" gifts too - something to represent the states we will be driving through. If you have any ideas for PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, NC, SC, GA & FL - let me know!!!!!

I'll be posting a lot more about our trip prep, as it's the biggest thing on our adjenda for the next few months. I need packing lists, itinerary plans, new clothes (we've started trying on all of the kids summer clothes so we know what we are lacking), new shoes and lots and lots of sunscreen!

If your family likes to travel, what are your best tips for a good trip?

How a hernia made up my mind

2009-03-19T09:10:00.002-04:00

First, I had my surgical consult yesterday and it went well. I indeed have a hernia which should be repaired, but it's not an emergency case, and my surgeon said I will be perfectly fine waiting until this summer (after we return from Disney) to have the surgery. The doctor was really nice and made me feel very comfortable. He said I'll need about 2 weeks to fully recover - meaning Craig will get to use some of his vacation time to help me take care of the kids while I recover. I am not really looking forward to the surgery, but I feel that I should have it done before it becomes more problematic. I am glad I can do it on my own time - and that I am not having it done next week!

BUT - I think I finally have my answer about what to do about my childcare position. I am going to finish the school year (which is only 12 more weeks) with the set of brothers I have. I will not take them next year. The other 5-year-old boy I will also take only through the end of the school year. I was undecided about taking him this summer, but now that I know i need 2 weeks off for our vacation, and now another 2 weeks off for my surgery, I feel the best thing for everyone is to give them notice that I can only take them until school is over.

This leaves me with my 8-year-old girl that I have been watching for 2 years. She is such a good kid and Craig and I have decided that she can come to our house when Craig is covering for me after surgery. Just having "K" here will be so much easier - I can take the kids to the park and on little outings (we love doing the summer reading club at the local library!). I think it will be the best of both worlds - a little income but a lot less stress.

Once school starts again in the fall, "K" will only come before/after school, so I will pretty much be back to "SAHM" status again. I couldn't be happier!

Surgical Consult today

2009-03-18T10:50:00.002-04:00

This afternoon I have a surgical consult about my hernia. I am a bit scared, but have to remind myself that this is an elective surgery so they can't force me into doing something that I am not comfortable with at this point.

I am hoping to hear that this is a very small hernia with little risk of complications, and that surgery can be put off for a few months until it's a better time for all parties involved.

I'll be sure to post an update tonight. I still have a house-full of kids today. My father offered to come watch the kids while I go to the doctor (since Craig had an important meeting this afternoon). I wish him luck with a house full of 7 kids! LOL

Another Family Dinner

2009-03-17T14:35:00.001-04:00

I just had to add a quick post, since I wrote about Family Dinners last week. My mom invited us all over for dinner again tonight! I think our BIG FAMILY DINNERS have been brought back to life!

Hooray! It's a beautiful day here in Pennsylvania - the sun is shining, the birds are singing and we've been playing outside most of the day! And now I don't have to cook dinner! What could be better?

Easy crockpot French Dip sandwiches

2009-03-16T18:58:00.002-04:00

I LOVE my crockpot! It just makes my day to prep all of my dinner in the morning and have it ready to go at dinnertime!

A few years ago I borrowed a cookbook from my Grammy and found a yummy (and super easy) recipe for a French Dip sandwich that my whole family loves! I actually made it for a baby shower once too!

The super easy recipe calls for a 2-3 lb chuck roast (trimmed) - but London Broil was on sale CHEAP this week, so I tried that and it worked wonderfully (in fact, Craig liked it even more because it was leaner).

Add a can of beef broth, a can of beef consume (my regular grocery store carries this, but I have not been able to find it at Super-Walmart), and a can of onion soup. You can stir in a tsp of beef bouillon if you'd like (I didn't have any today, so we did and it was still yummy!).

Just let that cook away (8 hrs on low -or- 4 hrs on high). Shred the beef using 2 forks - serve on nice, crusty hoagie rolls (you can add some cheese too!) and dip in the juice! It's so yummy!

I choose to use the low sodium soups and broth.

We had some leftover beef and "juice" so I threw it all back in the crockpot and made some soup! I've never made soup before, so I hope it tastes as yummy as it looks. I tossed in more broth, some potatoes, carrots, celery, peas and a can of tomato paste. Should make a great lunch tomorrow!

Hold Me Accountable

2009-03-16T09:15:00.002-04:00

I am stealing this idea from April over at http://thejoythejourneythejob.wordpress.com

Things to do this week:

1 - Workout on the WiiFit at least 30 minutes for at least 5 days

2 - Plan my Brownie meeting

3 - Declutter/Clean for 15-minutes a day

4 - Make & mail birthday invitations for the boys' birthday party.

5 - Eat dinner at home at least 5 days.

Hold me to this! We're trying to turn over a new leaf here! We've been very lazy when it comes to our budget because I have been making a nice chunk of money each week doing childcare. I will be cutting that money by at least half this summer - possibly even more. By September, I will only be watching one par-time girl and making next to nothing - so we need to ease back into our budget!

A boy and his broccoli

2009-03-13T18:54:00.003-04:00

-

After dinner this evening, Jacob had a bit of dessert. We were clearing the table and turned to find him digging into the big bowl of broccoli that was still sitting on the table. He just shoveled that broccoli into his mouth - using the big serving spoon!

This boy loves his broccoli!

You can also enjoy a RARE photo of me with Jacob. Usually I am behind the camera, but Craig was quick to grab the camera tonight and I got caught! Please ignore whatever Star Wars guy that is behind me!

Disney Countdown Night

2009-03-13T13:49:00.002-04:00

This is my first time posting on Furthering His Kingdom Fridays (stop over and see Kelly at The Barefoot Mama).

We have a big family vacation planned for June - our first trip to Disney World! Craig has a business trip planned for the Orlando area, and we decided to piggyback on that trip (which means that some of our expenses will be paid for by Craig's work!). We've been saving our pennies (and dimes, and quarters) for about a year so that we can pay for this trip in cash and truly enjoy this big family vacation.

We are all so excited to be heading to see Disney, so we've been doing a Disney Countdown Night for a few weeks. It's been a fun way to spend a Friday night as a family. We pick a movie and plan our dinner and evening activities around that theme. Some nights, the kids opt to actually watch the Disney movie; other times, they play or do a craft.

Tonight, we are going to celebrate Lady and the Tramp. We will be eating spaghetti and meatballs (of course!) and having some brownies with little plastic dogs on top!

We've had pirate ship hot dogs, Finding Nemo desserts (blue jello with some candy fish), And Make-Your-Own-Pizza (Planet) pizza night (from Toy Story). The kids get so excited abut their special dinners and look forward to it all week!

Even if you aren't counting down to Disney, you can easily start a family tradition of a special theme Family Night once a week. I love seeing the kids faces when they find out we're having "walk the plank french fries" and it's helped me be more creative in the kitchen too!

Family Meals

2009-03-12T12:32:00.002-04:00

My mom invited us for dinner tonight (yay! I don't have to cook!). Of course, my sister and her family will also be there, making the total 10 people for a Thursday night dinner. Fun!

We used to do these big family dinners once a week. I loved those dinners! As a young stay-at-home mom (with limited contact with the outside world) I had something to look forward to all week. We were able to enjoy a yummy meal and the company of our family. Moreover, *I* got to eat that meal with 2 hands because there were other people helping to look after my children and have some adult conversation! My children got to see their grandparents, aunt and uncle on a regular basis. It really was a pleasant event for all parties involved!

Unfortunately, these big family dinners stopped when my parents sold my childhood home and moved to a new home. They are still very close to us, but just the stresses of moving stopped the dinners and they never really resumed. Now, both my sister and I have busy families and it's harder to find a time that everyone is able to get together. It makes me sad that we don't have these family dinners regularly anymore.

But family meals are still a regular part of our life. We eat nearly all of our meals as a family. During the week, the children and I have breakfast and lunch together, and all 5 of us eat together for dinner. On weekends, we eat nearly every meal together as a family. I like to connection it gives us - taking time to break bread together. I hope that we continue to do this even as my children grow and get busier and busier.

We spend a lot of time in our kitchen. It has to be the most used room in the house; however, it's pretty neglected. We've been in our house for 5 years, and the kitchen has yet to see even a simple coat of paint.

Coming Next: See my poor, naked kitchen and help me pick some paint colors for it!

I love my Wii Fit!

2009-03-10T09:07:00.002-04:00

I am going to totally own up to having some weight issues today. i was always one of those people everyone hated in high school and college. You know who I am talking about - the girl who could eat an entire bag of potato chips in one sitting and still wear a size 5 - without one single sit-up.

That was me - 15 years ago. Now is a whole different story. My metabolism slowed down right around when I turned 21, however, I never really changed my eating habits. Add three pregnancies, working nights (and coming home hungry and eating a second dinner at 11:30 PM) and having general bad eating habits, and I have a whopping 40 extra pounds on me these days.

I was in denial about how much weight I had gained for some time, but I fully own up to it now. I've tried several things to lose weight, but nothing really stuck. I joined Curves after Jacob was born - and it worked and I enjoyed it, but a work-related schedule change made it impossible for me to get there. Same with the gym I joined last year - I would faithfully go at least three times a week UNTIL I got a new babysitting client and had to be home.

BUT - Craig got me a Wii for Christmas and we've had lots and lots of fun playing WiiSports games as a family. However, I really wanted a Wii Fit. I had to wait 2 months, but we did finally find one. I LOVE my Wii Fit.

I haven't actually seen any weight loss yet, but I feel so much better. I do at least 30 minutes a day - and it's fun! I've started doing the Free Run option and actually did a 20-minute (3.5 mile) run during Desperate Housewives this week! :) I am hoping that once it's nice outside that I can do the run outdoors in addition to the Wii Fit in the evening. The Yoga feels so nice to do, and the Strength Training seems to work my muscles at my own snail's pace. The kids love watching and doing the balance games!

I am hoping that the Wii Fit has helped me to turn over a new leaf. I am now getting 30 minutes of exercise a day, and I am starting towork on my portion control when I am eating. Hoepfully, I'll start to see some results soon (like before I have to put on a bathing suit in Florida this June!).

What sort of exercise do you actually do and love?

So much for the NO SPEND MARCH

2009-03-09T11:33:00.002-04:00

I guess this was a bad time of the year to try to not spend. After all, in just a few weeks we have a lot of celebrating to do:

April 1st is my 9th anniversary with my wonderful husband Craig
April 3rd is Jacob's 3rd birthday
April 7th is Ryan's 6th birthday (and he shares a birthday with my Grandpa - who will be 79!)
April 12th is Easter
May 10th is Mother's Day
May 20th is Madeline's 8th birthday

Scattered in there we also have several other family birthdays! It's a busy time of the year for us, but I love it. I know it's truly spring when we start planning the boys' birthdays!

This weekend we made a trip to Sam's Club for some needed grocery items. We also stopped at the party supply store to see if they had any Indiana Jones party supplies. They did not, so I had to order them this morning. The boys have a joint party with our family and friends in April and Maddie has one in May. This year, both Maddie and Ryan were interested in celebrating their birthdays at Bounce U with some friends, so we booked a joint party for them there later in April. Because I spend my days with a houseful of kids (doing childcare) the idea of hosting a home birthday party for my kids friends is enough to send me to the looney bin! So Bounce U it is (and, since Maddie and Ryan are sharing the party, it's actually quite affordable!).

But I just spent $100 on party goods! Yikes! This was a total for 3 different parties, so it isn't as bad as it seems. With my possible surgery looming in the near future, I feel better knowing that I have the party stuff under control and we'll be ready to go (especially if I am recovering from a surgery). The boys are having Indiana Jones and Maddie chose a horse pattern that we actually have not had in previous years!

Now I just need to work on the menus for the parties!

Friday Night Fun?

2009-03-08T21:45:00.004-04:00

Well, I am not sure this is everyone's idea of Friday Night Fun, but I started my weekend with a night of cleaning. :) Craig kept an eye on Jacob while Maddie and Ryan had a playdate with our neighbor, so I was free to clean.

This week I focused on the Family Room. Great name - "Family Room." We do spend a considerable amount of time in there as a family. That means we also leave a considerable mess in there as a family.

But I put everything in its home, dusted and vacuumed until the room looked nice and clean.

It's a nice-sized room (about 12' x 19') and we use it for everything! I love that it's right next to the kitchen, so the kids can play, read or watch tv while I prep our meals or clean up after we have eaten. We also have my piano in this room (oh how I miss playing! One of these days I need to find the time!).

You can see two doors in one photo - those lead to the laundry room and a small powder room. Everything is so close to the Family Room!

We decorated this room about 3.5 years ago, and I do like it, but I think I am almost ready for a change. I love that this room gets tons of light during the day, and that we were able to use a dark color on the walls. However, I am thinking of changing this room a bit (again, when I find the time).

As you get to see more of my home, you'll quickly discover that I don't have a very defined style. Our house is a mish-mash of hand-me-downs, sale items and more. One thing that I would love to do is finally put some thought into my decorating.